| LIBRARY OF CONGRESS } 

| i . . . • ■ . , — . # 

| ^ ! 

{ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J 



my*?: 



A VOICE 



i 

FROM 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



BY 

CAPTAIN ALLEN F. GARDINER, R.N. 



SOLD FOR THE BENEFIT OF 
THE PATA.GONIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 




PUBLISHED BY SEELEY, BURNSIDE, AND SEELEY, 
FLEET STREET, LONDON. 
MDCCCXLVII. 




L. SEELEY, PRINTER, THAMES DITTOX, SURREY. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SPANISH AMERICAN 
REPUBLICS, PRINCIPALLY WITH REGARD TO EDU- 
CATION and morals . . . page I 



CHAPTER II. 

REDUCED AND INDEPENDENT INDIANS TREATMENT 

OF THE LATTER BY THE SOUTH AMERICAN 

GOVERNMENTS THEIR LOCATIONS— LANGUAGE AND 

PRESENT CONDITION OPENINGS FOR MISSIONARY 

LABOURS AMONG THEM . . . page 16 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 

HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE ARAUCANIAN TRIBES. 

page 61 



CHAPTER IV. 

DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF ESTABLISHING 

MISSIONS ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS APPEAL TO 

CHRISTIANS AT LARGE . . . page 85 



N. B. — Names of places, fyc. are omitted 
ivherever their insertion would he more likely to 
hinder than facilitate the object in view. 



ERRATA. 



*£ge 03, line ii, for an read «». 

97, — 14, for et?er^ read any. 



A VOICE 

FROM 

SOUTH AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 

The writer of these few pages has but one single 
object in view, to lay before his fellow christians, in 
as concise a manner as possible, the result of several 
years investigation, as to the practicability of 
establishing Protestant Missions among the Abori- 
gines of South America ; but as the subject cannot 
be pursued with the necessary distinctness, without 
previously giving some brief account of the actual 
state of the Spanish American Republics, which 
either include, or border upon the Indian localities ; 
it is proposed in this first chapter, which may be 
regarded as introductory, to give such particulars 

B , 



2 



A VOICE FROM 



as may be absolutely necessary, but with exclusive 
reference to the moral condition of the people. 

In the remarks which I am about to make, it is 
neither my purpose, nor would it be just, to lift the 
veil of individual character, or unnecessarily to 
expose the blemishes or vices of a people, with 
whom I have for some time been associated. 
A far more charitable method is within my reach, 
and one which will as fully illustrate the points on 
which I purpose briefly to touch. In the occupation 
of husbandry, it does not require any practical 
skill to predict the nature of the crop, which will 
follow the sowing of any particular seed — it may 
indeed be partial or abundant ; it may be laid by 
tempests, or injured by blight ; but still, it is pre- 
cisely the plant which was expected to appear. 
Now, if we apply this reasoning, or rather this un- 
questioned fact, to the subject before us, we cannot 
fail to arrive at a just estimate of the moral condition 
of the people in question. 

Whatever we may attribute in the formation of 
national character, to political institutions, climate, 
internal tranquillity, or the reverse ; the two grand 
and cardinal elements, which combine to form the 
morals of a people, are education and religion ; and 
it is only in proportion as they are intrinsically 
sound, and not merely run parallel, but are insepa- 
rably intertwined, like the equal strands of a cable, 
that we are warranted to expect the highest and 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



3 



the most beneficial results. T\e have then only to 
make these two enquiries ; what is the character of 
the education and the religion inculcated in South 
America ? — Unhappily, we have peculiar facilities 
in replying to this general question, as there is but 
one uniform system pursued and tolerated, with but 
here and there an individual exception, as in 
Montevideo, and Valparaiso, throughout the whole 
of these Provinces. 

First then, with respect to education, — and I would 
here premise, that it would be as unfair, as it would 
be unwise, to compare the progress of the countries 
we are speaking of, with that of any of the settled 
States of Europe or North America. The circum- 
stances of South America are peculiar ; she has had 
much to struggle against. During the dominion of 
Spain, which continued for about three centuries, 
no encouragement was given to the Creole population, 
to make any advances in mental improvement, in 
consequence of the monopolies and reservations in 
favour of her European subjects. No sooner was 
the colossal power of Spain in the Indies shaken 
to its centre, than a host of sovereign states 
emerged from the wreck. Private jealousies, and 
public feuds, like rank weeds in a neglected soil, 
were immediately engendered, and it has too fre- 
quently happened that, instead of mutually assisting 
each other, when that friendly aid was most needed, 
external wars aud internal disputes gathered, as the 

B 2 



4 



A VOICE FROM 



years rolled on. A quarter of a century has now 
elapsed, since the Spanish yoke was broken, and 
the greater part of that period, as respects many of 
the States, has been wasted, in adjusting rival pre- 
tensions to place and power. The effect which these 
suicidal wars have had upon the manners and morals 
of the people, more especially in the States bordering 
upon the Rio de la Plata, and lower Parana, where 
the storm has chiefly raged, is lamentably apparent. 
The wanton cruelty and inhuman unconcern with 
which man's blood has been shed, on the most 
trivial occasion, is scarcely credible ; the natural con- 
sequence of which has been to foster in the midst 
of the community, a race of ruffians, who are ready 
to perpetrate, for the slighest prospect of gain, any 
tragical and bloody deed. 

In the province of Cordova, so recently as 1 843, 
no less than seventy or eighty of these freebooters, 
under the direction of a Postmaster named Castil- 
lanos, were banded together for the express purpose 
of way-laying, robbing, and sometimes murdering 
travellers ; and it was by a merciful providence 
which directed my path, that I escaped their hands. 
But for the difficulty of obtaining horses, which 
prevented me from leaving Cordova, as early as I 
had intended, I should have taken up my quarters 
at the very Post house, " Carnero," which was kept 
by the chief of the band, and to which I had by a 
kind friend, been recommended ; so secretly were 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



5 



their purposes carried on. Shortly after I had passed, 
a quarrel respecting the distribution of booty, in- 
duced one of the robbers to reyeal the whole plot, 
together with the names of his associates, to the 
government, on which several were apprehended and 
shot, but Castillanos, who was the chief offender, 
after a short confinement in prison, was, I am told, 
sentenced to — what will the English reader think, — 
serve in the army ! 

But powerfully as these causes operate to sap the 
foundations of morality and to retard the progress 
of education, there are other obstacles to improve- 
ment ; some of which, in all probability, will long 
remain, while there are others which cannot be 
remedied. I allude to the state of the population, 
which is not only thin, but widely scattered ; partly 
in consequence of the natural sterility of the soil, 
and the deficiency of drinkable water, and partly 
from the want of emigrants, to supply the place of 
the multitudes which were swept off, or driven from 
their lands, by the exterminating wars which pre- 
ceded the conquest of the country, by the first 
Spanish adventurers. This is the character of 
whole districts in the north of Chili, in Peru, 
Bolivia, and the province of Santiago del Estero : 
and I think I speak within bounds, when I say, that 
full two thirds of Bolivia, and a very large portion 
of the last mentioned province, is a wilderness. 

Let us now take a brief glance at that, which of 



6 



A VOICE FROM 



all others is, or should be, the most important ele- 
ment in all sound education — the religion professed 
and inculcated in the countries referred to, It would 
be mere waste of time to enter at large into this sub- 
ject, as the doctrines of the Church of Rome are 
unhappily but too well known to require any eluci- 
dation here ; a few short remarks will suffice to 
carry on the thread of the argument, and to show 
how little it is capable of doing, even to check the 
vices which it virtually condemns, or to raise the 
standard of morality among those whom, (with a 
latitudinarian charity, extensive as the limits of its 
influence,) it regards as the " Faithful." Even were 
its doctrines coincident with those which are found 
in Holy Scripture, I would ask what could be ex- 
pected in a country where the authorised teachers 
and guardians of religion are themselves living, for 
the greater part, in a state of concubinage ? where 
the appetite for sin may be indulged with impunity on 
certain prescribed days, in virtue of an exemption in 
favour of crime, issued by the Head of the Church, 
and offered for public sale at a stipulated price ! 
Again, I would ask, what kind of morality is likely 
to result from a system which, with the most glaring 
inconsistency, marks out two opposite roads as 
equally safe and leading to the mansions of eternal 
bliss — the one narrow and rigid, trodden only by the 
ascetic, the other broad as the most devoted sensu- 
alist could wish. Those who select the first are en- 



SOUTH AMEBIC A. 



couraged to expect, not merely favour and acceptance 
with God, on account of their own works, but to 
anticipate a period when they shall be enabled to 
love and serve Him, even more than he requires of 
them ; and, thereby, through the superabundance of 
their gratuitous acts of piety, to create a sort of 
sinking fund, for the special use and benefit of 
those whose lack of duty requires this friendly sup- 
plement, 

The other, and by far the more frequented path, is 
equally gilded with anticipations of future glory, 
though the motto over its portal might literally be — 
" Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." 
Let the precious period of life be spent as it may, it 
is presumed by those erudite expounders of Holy 
"Writ, all will terminate well, provided in his last 
hour, on the very threshold of eternity, the dying 
person receives, at the hand of some friendly Priest, 
a consecrated wafer. At that solemn period, though 
perhaps in speechless imbecility, and in the very 
article of death, a fatal assurance of ultimate pardon 
and acceptance before that God, whose commands 
he has, perhaps, disregarded during the whole period 
of a long life, is infused ; the fallacy of which, (it 
may be but a few moments afterwards) the realities 
of eternity awfully and irrevocably reveal. 

Still, in the face of these several hindrances, phy- 
sical, political and religious, education is on the ad- 
vance. In almost every town and village, there is a 



s 



A VOICE FROM 



school, where reading and writing, and the first rudi- 
ments of arithmetic may be acquired ; and, in some of 
the capitals, such as, Buenos Ayres, Lima, Cordova, 
Santiago de Chile, and Chuquisaca, there are col- 
leges, where Latin, History, Geography, Logic, &c, 
are taught. But there is almost an absolute dearth, 
not merely of native, but of foreign literature ; so 
that, with the exception of some few of the principal 
cities, which are resorted to by foreigners, a person 
may travel through the length and breadth of the 
land without meeting with any other description of 
book than a few translations of French or English 
novels, here and there a volume on medicine, and 
an endless number of catechisms and mass books. 
As might be supposed, the public mind is, generally 
speaking, totally uninformed on all subjects of 
science and literature, so much so, that I have been 
gravely asked, by otherwise intelligent persons, 
whether Japan was not near to Great Britain ; whe- 
ther London was in England, or China far distant 
from Cape St. Vincent in Spain ! 

The intercourse with foreigners, which, since the 
revolution, has been yearly increasing, has not been 
without its beneficial results, more especially in 
Montivedeo, where former prejudices are gradually 
giving way, and there is much to encourage the 
hope that Protestanism will ere long be tolerated. 
Other influences are also in slow and silent operation, 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



9 



which may eventually lead to the same result, but 
which it is not necessary here to specify. 

But, in order to obtain a just conception of the 
present state of Spanish America, we must bear in 
mind that the republicanism which has lighted upon 
those often distracted provinces, bears little resem- 
blance to its northern prototype ; retaining indeed 
the name, and ostensibly the form, under the shadow 
of which a despotism lurks, which in Turkey itself 
could scarcely be rivalled. A few instances will 
suffice to confirm this assertion, which truth extorts. 
In the year 1836, eighty Indians from the neigh- 
bourhood of R°. Negro, fell into the hands of the 
Buenos Ayrians, and were conveyed by sea to the 
capital as prisoners. They had scarcely arrived, 
when orders were issued by the Governor, General 
Rosas, that they should be executed. They were 
accordingly marched to the esplanade, in front of the 
Retiro barracks, and being drawn out by ten in a 
company, were there publicly shot by a party of 
soldiers appointed for the purpose. In 1839, doctor 
Yincente Maza (President of the National Assembly) 
together with his son, were murdered in their own 
residence, by the secret agents of the same individual. 
In 1840 and 1842, the most dreadful massacres 
were daily perpetrated by that atrocious band, called 
" La Mashorca," who are the legalized assassins of 
the Buenos xlyrian Government. On the first oc- 
casion, which continued for more than two months, 



10 A VOICE FROM 

it is computed, that no less than 200 persons were 
cut off by nightly assassinations ; and about an equal 
number during the latter period, which lasted for 
about three weeks. Mounted parties of these 
"Mashorca" during those days of terror (in 1840) 
traversed the streets throughout the night, ordering 
their victims summarily to mount behind them, and 
being thus conveyed to the outskirts of the city, 
their throats were unceremoniously cut. In 1842, 
these deeds of blood were perpetrated in open day, 
and when the number of bodies were sufficient to 
load a cart, they were conveyed to an open vault 
prepared for their reception, into which they were 
cast without christian burial. Two cases, on account 
of the circumstances of consummate barbarity which 
attended them, stand out with a dreadful notoriety — 
the first a Spaniard, whose partner in business was 
known to be favourable to the cause of General 
Lavalle (the principal opponent of Rosas, who fell 
in an attempt to wrest the Government from his 
hands.) This unfortunate individual was sum- 
marily seized andjcast head foremost, while alive, into 
a cask of pitch, his legs being broken on the edge 
of it, in order to enable them to force in the whole 
body, which it was otherwise too small to contain. 
Fire was then set to the pitch, and the whole was 
consumed together. The other case was not less 
revolting to humanity — a young man who, with 
several others, had been condemned to death, was 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



II 



being conveyed in a cart to the place of execution. 
On passing a house in the " Calle 25 cle Mayo," 
before which several Englishmen were standing, he 
waved his hat exclaiming, <e Thank God, there are 
stili in Buenos Ayres some individuals who are free, 
and can raise a hearty 6 Viva 5 for liberty." On 
hearing these expressions, the officer in charge of 
the escort, ordered the cart to stop, and immediately 
reported the circumstance to the Governor ; who 
directed, by the return of the messenger, that the 
offender should be deprived of his tongue, which 
was accordingly cut out on the spot. The cart was 
then allowed to proceed, and in less than an hour 
from that time the whole party which it contained, 
including the young man who had been so wantonly 
tortured, were shot. It has been computed by a 
competent judge, Senor Yndarte, that during the 
government of General Rosas, up to the latter part 
of 1843, no less than 5,884 individuals have been 
cut off by his orders. The dreadful catalogue, ac- 
cording to his published statement, is transcribed 
below : — 

Died by poison 4 



by cutting the throat 

by shooting 

by the poniard. . . 



. 3,765 
. 1,393 
. 722 



5,884 



12 



A VOICE FRO^I 



The system of espionage has been so long and so 
generally practised throughout the Argentine Pro- 
vinces, that it is regarded as a matter of daily 
routine and a necessary means of supporting the 
government. Confiscation of property and summary 
banishment, without the shadow of a trial, are not 
unfrequent occurrences in any of these self-named 
Republics. The frontier towns of almost every 
sovereign State, contain many self-expatriated in- 
dividuals who, either from real or alleged political 
offences, dare not venture back to their own country. 
While I was in Cordova, in 1843, Mr. Tait, an 
Englishman, who had been some time residing in 
that city, was suddenly taken, without any op- 
portunity for appeal, from his house to the public 
prison, where for several days he was confined, for 
having expressed his satisfaction at the account 
which had just arrived, of the capture of the Busco, 
a small port near Montevideo, by the troops of 
Revira, the opponent of Oribe, and consequently of 
Rosas. 

Military power is, in fact, almost universally the 
main spring and basis of all civil authority in these 
Republics, the constitutions of which are often as 
short lived as the President's tenure of power; few 
of them resisting so favourable an opportunity of 
making some material alterations during their re- 
spective periods of office. 

There is no want of public men, in the literal sense 



SOUTH AMEBIC A. 



13 



of the word, throughout the country ; but there is 
a lamentable deficiency of public spirited men ; the 
greater part struggling for power, as the key to some 
ambitious design or personal profit, rather than as a 
means whereby they might confer durable benefits 
upon their countrymen. 

The revolutionary earthquake, which has broken 
the sceptre of a mighty Colonial empire into almost 
innumerable fragments, has, notwithstanding many 
and serious drawbacks, opened out some promising 
vistas through which the Christian looks with an- 
ticipations of future good. Like individual character, 
each distinct state has something peculiar to itself 
in its laws, its internal policy, and the general tone 
of sentiment among the people ; so that it occa- 
sionally happens, that what it would be either rash 
or futile to attempt in one, may be effected in 
another. For instance, in Cordova or in Catamarca, 
the Agents of the Bible or the Religious Tract 
Societies, would find little encouragement — nay, on 
my departure from the former city, a notice was 
placed at the door of the principal Church, calling in 
all the books of those Societies, which had been 
previously sold or distributed, under the penalty of 
excommunication, should they not be given up to the 
ecclesiastical authorities within a specified time. 
Many were in consequence delivered, and being 
thrown together in a heap, were burnt in an open 
court behind the Church. From the great influence 



.14 



A VOICE FROM 



of the clergy in Cordova, and its numerous Churches 
and Convents, it has obtained the name, to which it 
is justly entitled, of " Roma chica" — (Little Rome.) 

It is principally to Cordova and Catamarca, that 
the Jesuits, who were invited to Buenos Ayres by 
Rosas, and afterwards expelled by him for their want 
of obsequiousness to his dictates, have established 
themselves. Several of this order are likewise to be 
found in Valparaiso, where their influence is gra- 
dually increasing. Both in Buenos Ayres, and in 
Montevideo, Religious Tracts in Spanish have been 
printed, which in other places could not have been 
effected ; and there is scarcely a district, from the 
Isthmus of Darien to the Island of Chiloe where, 
with ordinary percaution, they may not, together 
with Bibles and Testaments, be distributed, and in 
many instances sold. In this opinion I am strength- 
ened by the best of all tests, experience ; and I 
rejoice in this opportunity of assuring my fellow- 
christians, that South xlmerica, far from being closed 
to the efforts of the friends of Bible and Tract dis- 
tribution, is still open, and loudly calls for their most 
strenuous exertions. In that quarter of the world, 
three or four travelling agents might be most advan- 
tageously employed, and it is sincerely to be hoped, 
that the facilities which are now afforded by the West 
India and Pacific steamers, for visiting in detail some of 
the most commercial ports of that continent, will 
not be overlooked ; and that, some more systematic 



SOLTH AMERICA.. 



15 



and continuous efforts than have hitherto been made, 
will be set on foot ; if not to supply the spiritual 
wants of a vast population, at least to neutralize the 
effects of those pernicious novels, chiefly from 
France, which are continually finding their way 
across the Atlantic. 



16 



A VOICE FROM 



CHAPTER II. 

As the preceding chapter contains all that is deemed 
necessary to say respecting the South American 
Republics, by way of introduction, we will now pass 
at once to the subject which has been mainly in view 
throughout — the actual condition of the Indian 
Tribes. It is worthy of remark, that the further we 
go northward, until we reach the states bordering 
on the Caribbean sea, the greater are the number of 
the aborigines, which are found intermixed with 
their conquerors ; while, proceeding in an opposite 
direction, the reverse, with few exceptions, obtains. 

In Peru, in Bolivia, in Paraguay, and in a portion 
of the province of Santiago del Estero, whole com- 
munities of Indians are incorporated with the Spa- 
nish-speaking inhabitants, and are living securely 
among them. These are what are popularly called 
the reduced Indians ; more or less civilized, and 
acknowledging both the religion and the sovereignty 
of the states within the limits of which they live. 
The aborigines form the greater part of the popula- 



V 



SOUTH AMERICA. 17 

tion of Paraguay ; and, consequently, their language, 
the Guarane, is much more generally spoken than 
Spanish : while, in Peru, and Bolivia, and in the 
southern portion of the Argentine Republic, there 
are whole districts where Quichua (the ancient lan- 
guage of Peru) still prevails ; insomuch that, in 
order to understand their servants, and to transact 
the commonest business in the market, or the retail 
shops, the gentry of those parts of the country find 
it absolutely necessary to acquire the Indian tongue. 
Traces of this language are to be found far beyond 
the limits within which it is at present spoken; 
thus the name given to the R° Pilcomayo is com- 
posed of two Quichua words, " pilco," signifying red, 
and " mayo," river, an appellation which very accu- 
rately describes the appearance of its waters, which 
are turbid and of a reddish colour. The term 
" Chaco 99 , is likewise derived from the same source, 
and in Quichua signifies an impediment in the road, 
occasioned by the falling or hewing down of trees in 
a forest ; when a number of trunks and ^boughs lie 
confusedly one over the other, obstructing the pas- 
sage ; descriptive, no doubt, of the difficulties which 
a traveller would occasionally meet with in traversing 
that part of the country. Even among the Chilidugu 
speaking tribes, such as the Araucanians and the 
Puelches, the name given to the Supreme Being, is 
evidently obtained from the Quichua ; in that lan- 
guage it is Ynti, in Chilidugu it is Anti, the diffe- 

c J 



t 

18 A VOICE FROM 

rence being too slight to leave room for any doubt 
as to its origin, especially as the Peruvians were 
eminently worshippers of the sun, and the term in 
question is equally applied by the Tribes to which 
I have alluded, to that orb, which they all regard as 
the residence at least, if not the essence of the 
Deity. 

During the period of the Spanish rule, it was a 
maxim that every Mission, after the lapse of forty 
years, should become a " Curato/ 5 or Parish, so that 
by this process, the Indian locations, one after ano- 
ther, were annexed to the State; the Civil autho- 
rities following closely upon the heels of their 
pioneers, the Jesuits, and after their expulsion, the 
Franciscans. The bare remembrance of this very 
general result, although the regulation itself has be- 
come obsolete, is, to this day, one of the most power- 
ful hindrances to Protestant exertions in behalf of 
the Indians of this continent; as the Spanish Ame- 
rican authorities are ever disposed to regard all such 
attempts as emanating from the respective govern- 
ments to which the Missionaries belong, and are 
doubly jealous of their proceedings, considering them 
as precursors to a more direct attempt to establish 
a claim to the territories in which they have resided. 
We shall look in vain for any mementos of Jesu- 
fical zeal, among the Indians of that vast and al- 
most unknown territory, which extends, with com- 
paratively little interruption, from the Gran Chaco 



* 

SOUTH AMERICA. 19 

to the Straits of Magalhaen. Whatever they may 
have accomplished is now obliterated, and it is well 
known that on these interior Tribes, they made 
little or no impression,— they are still as independent 
of foreigners, and as ignorant of true religion, as they 
were on the day when Columbus and his companions 
first set foot upon their shores, The treatment 
which they received, in the first instance, at the 
hands of the Spaniards was, invariably the same ; 
nothing could satisfy these bold yet unprincipled 
adventures but their entire submission ; and, wher- 
ever this was refused, every means was resorted to 
for their subjugation^ including those of the most 
cruel and vindictive character ; many individuals, as 
it is well known, having been cast alive into the 
names, and there consumed, on no other pretext 
than their undaunted bravery in defending their 
country from foreign aggression, and endeavouring 
to break the yoke which was forging for their necks. 
By the overruling providence of God, bounds were 
set to this desolating flood which, had it run its 
fatal career, would have depopulated in its progress 
some of the fairest portions of this vast continent. 
It is only necessary to set foot on that part of South 
America which is washed by the Carribean Sea, and 
to traverse the province of Buenos Ayres, to be 
assured that this would have been the result. 

Many of the unfortunate victims of this sanguinary 
system of colonization, doubtless took refuge in the 
c 2 



20 A YOICE FROM 

interior, compelled to abandon the lands of their 
ancestors to those who, as repects the northern 
districts referred to, gradually supplied their place 
by large importations of slaves from the shores of 
Western Africa. 

The hardier frames and fiercer spirits of the more 
southern Tribes, warned by the fate of their nor- 
thern brethren in Mexico and Peru, combined to 
inspire them with the unanimous resolution to repel 
the invaders, or perish in the attempt. A sudden 
and unexpected check was soon given to the hitherto 
victorious career of the Spaniards, who, after a long 
and fruitless struggle for dominion, were obliged to 
content themselves with what they had already so 
unjustly acquired. From that period (with very few 
exceptions) no attempts have been made to conciliate 
the hostile Indians, while those who had fallen 
under the Spanish yoke, — until that yoke was broken 
at the period of the Revolution, — were subject to a 
rigorous servitude in the mines, mitigated however 
in some degree, by an edict of Charles V. issued in 
1542, which established and regulated the service 
called £S Mita." 

In Chile, two systems have alternately been 
adopted ; at one period the utmost coercion, and the 
most strenuous efforts for conquest, — at another, a 
more pacific and conciliatory policy : but happily 
neither have proved successful in inducing them 



SOUTH AMERICA. 21 

to compromise their natural existence, and resign 
their well earned and dearly bought independence. 

It is not a little remarkable to find, in the imme- 
diate neighbourhood of the first Spanish Settlements 
in America, which, for more than two centuries, 
were justly regarded as the citadels of their growing 
power, and the key to their possessions, not only in 
Peru and Chile, but also in the Philippine Islands, 
that there still exist several distinct races of abo- 
riginal inhabitants, who hare successfully resisted 
all their efforts for conquest ; and are at this present 
time, not only in undisputed possession of the 
territories, which their ancestors owned at the 
period of the discovery, but are still independent of 
all foreign control. While on either hand the 
country has been swept of its original inhabitants, 
and they are margined by a population of whites 
and negroes of foreign extraction ; they stand out in 
bold relief, like the rocky buttresses which line 
their coast, against which the billows of the Atlantic 
have lashed for ages, and still expend in foam their 
fruitless rage. 

The principal body of these natives are found in 
the Mosquito country, south of Honduras — in the 
province of Darien , and in the northern extremity 
of that branch of the Cordillera, which forms the 
boundary between the States of Nueva, Granada, 
and Venezuela. Each of these tribes, as might be 
expected, from the severe lesson which they have 



22 A TOICE FftOM 

been taught, are extremely suspicious of foreigners, 
but more particularly those of the Guajiro nation, 
who inhabit the peninsula, washed by the Gulph of 
Venezuela on the east, and by the Caribbean sea, 
as far as La Hacha on the west. The Mosquitos, 
and the Darien Indians, are well known to the 
Traders from Jamaica and other parts, and as we 
have a Consul at Blue-fields on the Mosquito shore, 
and the young king is considered to have been placed 
by his father, the late ruler of the Mosquito nation, 
under the protection of the British Government, it 
is to be hoped that so favourable an opening for 
imparting to his people that knowledge which is 
ce the beginning of wisdom " and the key to eternal 
life, will not be disregarded by those, " who sigh 
and cry for the abominations that are done in the 
earth." The Mosquitos are more numerous, and 
are a taller race than either of the other two nations 
— the Indians of Darien or the Guajiros (in English 
pronounced Wakeeros.) The following information 
respecting the Darien Tribes, was obtained from a 
gentleman who has been in the habit of trading 
with them in his own vessel for some years. Their 
territory commences on the North West at Cape 
St. Bias, and ends about midway on the eastern 
shore of the Gulph of Darien. The coast is fronted 
by numerous small islands, which, until the fishing 
season, are uninhabited, but during that period, are 
visited by the natives, who thus leave and return 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



23 



to the^huts and small villages which have been 
built upon them. They are of a copper colour : 
both men and women paint red marks upon their 
faces, and the latter wear a ring through the carti- 
lage of the nose. They have long been attired in the 
blue calicoes, which they procure from the traders. 
These, together with tobacco, muskets, powder, and 
trinkets are exchanged for tortoise shell, cocoa, and 
cocoa nut oil. They reside in permanent habita- 
tions, and subsist chieny by hunting and fishing. 

They ackDOwledge one Supreme Being, but have 
a number of small wooden idols to which they 
appeal on various occasions, placing them around 
the hammocks of the sick, in the hope, by their 
means, to obtain relief for the sufferer. The dead 
are interred in half of the canoe which they pos- 
sessed, which is cut for the purpose, and serves as 
a coffin, in which are also deposited all the warlike 
implements, fishing gear, and other articles, the 
property of the deceased, which are buried with 
him at some distance from their dwellings. The 
country is not considered to be unhealthy by the 
Europeans who have visited it ; but the jealousy 
of the natives will not admit of their remaining 
long. They are received kindly, and may even 
take up their abode on shore, and mix with the 
people, near the entrance of the rivers : but they 
are not allowed to proceed far up, and, after a few 
weeks 5 residence, are told that they must leave the 



24 



A VOICE FTIOM 



country, an intimation which if disregarded, would 
subject them to the penalty of death. About four 
years ago, Mr. Archer, a Missionary of the Baptist 
communion, visited them from Jamaica, and con- 
tinued with them for about four months, at the end 
of which time he was told, that to prolong his stay 
would be fatal, and that he must now return. While 
among them, he proposed, on the part of his 
Society, as I was informed, to purchase the Island 
of Pines ; which was favourably situated, as a Mis- 
sionary Station, but their consent could not be ob- 
tained, and the plan of course was abandoned. 

As several of the Darien lads are employed on 
board the small vessels which trade on their coast, 
and there are individuals who speak intelligible 
English among them, advantages so great, in a 
Missionary point of view, should surely be turned to 
good account. How often have christians to blush 
at the fearless intrepidity, and patient endurance 
(in spite of every obstacle which climate and a 
treacherous people may cast in their way) which is 
exhibited by hundreds of those, who are seeking 
their fortune, (as it is called) in different parts of 
the world ! Were we but as quick- sighted, and 
alive to the spiritual wants of our fellow creatures, 
as they are for the acquirement of worldly gain, we 
should not be able, as is still unhappily the case, to 
place our hands upon a map of the world, and point 
out so many regions, and islands, and districts, 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



25 



where the fabrics of Manchester and Leeds and 
Paisley have obtained an entrance, but where no 
gospel messenger has ever set foot ! 

From all I have heard respecting the Wakeero 
Indians, they appear to be still more inaccessible 
than those of the Darien coast. No person without 
a strong escort, will venture among them from the 
neighbourhood of Santa Martha, and even then they 
are in continual danger of being attacked. About 
a year and a half ago, a French man of war Schooner 
was lost on that coast, to the northward of La 
Hacha, and the crew with great difficulty escaped 
their hands ; numbers of the natives coming down 
armed to the beach, for the sole purpose of cutting 
them off, and pillaging the vessel. It is said that 
there is no intercourse between them and the whites 
on either side, and that they live almost exclusively 
by hunting. 

But these are isolated spots ; by far the greater 
part of the aboriginal inhabitants which still main- 
tain their independence, are to be found in three great 
communities. 1st. On the banks of the Orinoco and 
Amazon, and their respective affluents. 2ndly. In 
the south and east of Chile, in those vast Pampas 
which extend from the frontiers of Buenos Ayres to 
the Cordillera ; and lastly in those equally exten- 
sive, but generally wooded plains called the Gran 
Chaco ; a region not less than 550 miles in length 
from North to South, and with a mean breadth of 



26 



A VOICE FROM 



about 150 miles ; lying between Bolivia and the 
provinces of Salta and Santiago del Estero on the 
west, and Paraguay and Coorientes on the east. 

Of all these people the Araucanians are the most 
civilized ; and, as little is known of the Oronoco and 
Amazon tribes, although there are still some Friars 
residing on the outskirts of their country, we will 
commence with that section of the continent in 
which the xlraucanians are found, before we proceed 
to give any account of the other great family of In- 
dians inhabiting the Gran Chaco. 



THE AEAUC ASIANS. 



The territory occupied by the Araucanian tribes, 
divides Chile into two unequal parts. It would be 
difficult to define its precise limits, as many encroach- 
ments, from time to time, have been made by the 
Spanish Americans ; it may, however, be sufficient 
to state, that it occupies the greater portion of the 
country which is comprised between the two most 
important rivers in that region, the Biobio on the 
north, and the Calle-calle on the south ; bounded 
on the west by the Pacific, and on the east by 
the Cordillera. The name " Araucanos," applied 
generally to the natives of this teritory, does not ob- 
tain among themselves, but was given to them by 
the Spaniards from Arauco, their principal fortress 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



27 



on the Indian frontier, and which has often been 
the scene of bloody contests between both parties. 

The Arancanians are composed of two principal 
tribes, the Picuntos and the WeUiclies, terms signi- 
fying respectively Northern and Southern people. 
Their nearest neighbours on the opposite side of the 
Andes, are the Pawenches, and further East are the 
Puelches. But one language, the Chilidugu, pre- 
vails among the aborigines of this part of the con- 
tinent, being equally spoken on both sides of the 
Cordillera from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 

Their government, in common with almost all the 
tribes of the new world, with the exception of the 
great empires of Mexico and Peru, is founded upon 
the Patriarchal form, out of which has grown up a 
system which may not improperly be called Repub- 
lican. The country is divided into four districts, 
each of which is under the superintendance of two 
orders of Chieftains, called Ulman, and Apo-ulman ; 
the latter being the superior in rank. There is also 
a still higher dignity called Toki, but this is usually 
conferred by election in a general assembly of the 
nation on the approach of war, or in other great 
emergencies. The supreme direction of affairs is 
then lodged in the hands of the Toki, who ex- 
ercises the function of dictator, as long as his services 
are deemed necessary for the welfare of the state. 
The other two orders are hereditary. They have no 
priesthood or places of worship, and seem to have no 



28 



A VOICE FROM 



other vestige of religion than a belief in the agency 
of evil spirits, and of one Supreme Being, named 
Anti, whose residence they consider to be in the 
sun. They have suffered so much in their frequent 
wars with the Spaniards and their successors, that 
they have imbibed a deep-rooted distrust of all 
foreigners, who are not permitted to reside among 
them, and it is on this account that so few opportunities 
have been afforded of adding to the very scanty in- 
formation which has been obtained respecting their 
customs and domestic habits. 

History however bears abundant testimony as to 
their bravery, their patriotism, and their indomita- 
ble spirit, and it is no less admitted by those who 
have had any intercourse with them, that they 
are, when not excited by warfare, a quiet and in- 
dustrious people. They have long been celebrated 
for making excellent pouchos, bridles, saddle girths, 
&c. ; and these articles form the staple of a con- 
siderable barter trade, which is carried on between 
them and the Chilenos of the frontier districts. 

Their houses are of an oval shape, formed of bent 
poles meeting at the top, and crossed by others at 
intervals ; the frame being supported in the middle 
by a line of interior posts, fixed in the ground. They 
are thatched throughout with grass ; no aperture 
being left for light, which is admitted by the door, 
besides which, there is always an opening left under 
the ridge pole, at each extremity of the roof, for 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



the escape of smoke, the fire being made on the 
ground, in the centre of the house. The door, which 
is placed in one of the extremities, admits a suf- 
ficient current of air to occasion the ascent of the 
smoke to the openings in the roof, so that little in- 
convenience is ever felt on that account ; notwith- 
standing the blazing fires which are generally kept up 
within. Viewed from the exterior, these habitations 
bear a great resemblance to a large boat turned keel 
uppermost ; and the more so, as the thatch, through- 
out the entire length of the ridge-pole, is drawn up 
into a high crest, like the mane of a mule, in the 
very part which would be occupied by the keel. 
There is no want of propriety in the attire either of 
the men or the women : the former wear woollen 
pouchos, the latter mantles of the same material, 
bordered or fringed, according to the tribe to which 
they belong. The ground is usually dark blue, with 
a broad chocolate-coloured border, woven in ; but 
this gives place to grey which, without any border- 
ing, is generally worn by the natives of the Southern 
districts. Indigo, which is employed for dying 
these home-spun clothes, is in such universal de- 
mand among them, that it has become the chief 
article of barter ; and may almost be said, to be the 
currency of the country, nearly every commodity 
being estimated by its relative value in indigo. 
Although they are not migratory, they have a pecu- 
liar repugnance to living in large communities, and 



30 



A VOICE FROM 



from the period of their discovery, they hare never 
been known to inhabit what might be termed a town ; 
their most extensive localities being composed of 
several groups of widely scattered houses, seldom 
more than three or four being found together in one 
spot. These rustic dwellings, situated, as they 
usually are, beneath the shade of trees, and near 
some cultivated ground, beyond which, views of the 
lofty Cordillera are often obtained, give a picturesque 
and cheerful aspect to the country ; which the 
Spaniards themselves admit to be the fairest part of 
Chile. They cultivate a sufficient quantity of wheat, 
barley, beans &c. for their own consumption, and be- 
sides rearing their own horses, have numerous herds 
of cattle, sheep and goats. The peniones, or seeds of 
the Araucanian pine, (a handsome tree which grows 
in forests on the slopes of the Cordillera) furnish 
them also with a very nutritious food, which they 
collect in the autumn. When cooked, the flavour is 
not unlike that of the chesnut, and as they will keep 
for some time, it constitutes, when the gathering 
season has been favourable, a great part of their 
diet. 



THE PAWENCHES. 



The nearest Indian neighbours to the Araucanian s 
are the Pawenches, who derive their name from 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



31 



Pawen, (pine) the seeds of which, in common with 
the Araucanians, they eat during a part of the year, 
and which grows abundantly in that part of the 
country which they inhabit. Of late years, in con- 
sequence of the war which was made in 1832 by the 
combined forces from Buenos Ayres, and some of 
the other provinces bordering upon the Pampas, 
against all the Indian Tribes in that vicinity, the 
Pawenches have moved more to the southward, and 
are now only to be found in the valleys of the Cor- 
dillera, which face the province of Chilian, Concep- 
cion, and Taldivia, and a hmited district beyond. 
They are an industrious and pastoral people, pos- 
sessed of numerous herds of cattle and sheep, living 
in skin tents, and occasionally migrating in order to 
obtain sustenance for their flocks. They manufac- 
ture their own clothing from the fleece of their sheep, 
of which there is among them a breed of a very ex- 
traordinary size. They seem to stand midway in 
the scale of civilization, between the Araucanians and 
the Pampas Indians ; and there is good reason to 
believe that, by their means, each of those nations 
might be approached for Missionary purposes. 
During about five months of the year, from the 
middle of May, to the middle or end of October, 
they are cut off from all communication with Chile, 
by the deep snows which cover the passes in the 
Cordillera ; but, during the remainder of the year, 
traders from the frontier of that Republic occa- 



32 



A VOICE FROM 



sionally visit them, in order to barter indigo, tobacco, 
and trinkets, for pouchos, bridles, and other horse 
gear, which they manufacture with great neatness 
and skill, and which are in great demand among the 
Chilenos of the southern provinces. 



THE PTJELCHES. 



The term Puelches signifies eastern people, and 
includes all those Tribes which are popularly called 
the Pampas Indians. Although the effects of their 
depredations are to be traced in almost every direc- 
tion, little is known of their domestic habits and 
locations, excepting that, like their neighbours, the 
Pawenches, and the Patagonians, they live in skin 
tents, are migratory, subsist chiefly by hunting, and 
the flesh of their mares, and are, perhaps, (not ex- 
cepting the Arabs themselves,) the most expert and 
daring robbers that are known. The feeling be- 
tween them and the Spanish Americans, of the adja- 
cent provinces, is so bitter, that, whenever they fall 
into their hands, they give them no quarter, making 
captives only of children and young women. Among 
them unfortunately are to be found, in the present 
day, several deserters from the army, whom they 
are willing to receive, as they become the best guides 
and pioneers in their plundering expeditions. When 
headed by these ruffians, they are more formidable, 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



33 



as I had an opportunity of seeing, on my return to 
a small village called La Cruz Alta, in the province 
of Cordova, upon which they had made an attack 
soon after I passed it, on my way to that city, in 
the latter end of 1843. They appeared in such 
numbers, between 400 and 500, that the small body 
of militia stationed there, considered it prudent to 
retire with the rest of the inhabitants, within an 
entrenchment, surrounded by a high cactus fence, 
the only description of fort to be found in those 
parts, but which has always proved a sufficient de- 
fence against their mode of assault upon horseback. 
Every house in the mean time was completely sacked, 
and numbers of horses and cattle were carried off; but, 
on this occasion, only three lives were lost ; one, a 
soldier, the others, two women, who were sitting 
together, and were pierced by the same ball, fired by 
one of these wretched deserters. Troops of Indians 
are continually traversing the country, trailing their 
long spears at their horses' sides, and generally 
journeying by night. Excepting in those parts where 
thistles abound, and which I have often seen as high 
as my head on horseback, there is no security from 
their sudden approach, either by day or by night * 
but, even there, this protection fails as soon as the win- 
ter commences, and this herbaceous forest gradually 
withers and falls to the ground. It is surprizing to 
see with what perfect sang froid the Post Masters of 
these districts retain their positions, isolated as they 



34 A VOICE FROM 

are, often five, six or seven leagues distant from 
each other, with perhaps not a human habitation 
intervening ; and that in some of the most exposed 
parts of the Pampas. About ten weeks before I 
passed the Post House of Desmochadas, it had sus- 
tained one of those daily anticipated attacks, from a 
party of Indians. The men, according to custom, 
whenever the building is sufficiently substantial and 
high, which, surprising to say, is very rarely the 
case, ascended by a ladder, kept in readiness for 
such emergencies, to the flat roof ; and were out of 
harm's reach ; but two unhappy women, who had not 
time to follow them, were earned off. The Post of 
La Candilaria, which is situated upon the road 
which equally conducts to Cordova and Mendoza, 
has long been considered one of the most dangerous 
spots throughout the route to either place. Not 
many years ago it was attacked by Indians, who 
killed the Post Master, and made captives of four- 
teen women and children — his son, the present Post 
Master, was absent at the time in a carreta, or he 
would have shared the same fate with his father. 
When I last passed, I asked him how he could con- 
tinue to live in a place so notoriously dangerous, and 
where he could never be free from the apprehension 
of an attack. He very quietly replied, " I always 
keep a good horse saddled, and should the Indians 
make their appearance, I should immediately make 
off. 5 ' 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



35 



On these expeditions, the Indians are invariably 
accompanied by spare horses, which enables them 
to make very long and rapid journeys ; carrying 
nothing with them by way of provisions, excepting 
a hide bag of roasted meal ; which, mixed with water 
in a horn, taken from the nearest brook, is all that 
they require for their support. 

They have a peculiar method of concealing their 
body behind that of the horse on which they ride, 
and in this manner they frequently steal upon their 
enemies before they are aware. 

Attempts have been recently made by the Gover- 
nor of Cordova, (Lopez,) to obtain timely notice of 
any projected expedition on the part of the Indians, 
who are accustomed to traverse the southern portion 
of that province in their way to their favourite plun- 
dering ground, between the towns of Rosario and 
St. Nicolas on the Parana, in order that he might 
warn the farmers in that district to remove their 
cattle, and give them a free passage, being too weak 
to oppose their progress. This passive policy, 
accompanied as it has been, by the due administra- 
tion of presents, had generally proved successful, 
until the late attack on La Cruz Alta, in retaliation 
for which alleged breach of confidence on the part of 
their confidant, (a chief named Paine) the Governor 
imprisoned several Indians, whom he had induced to 
enter the city, in the hope of effecting a treaty with 
their tribe, and threatened to put them to death ; 
i) 2 



36 



A VOICE FROM 



which, however, was not put into execution. It is 
remarkable that Paine is in good report, both by the 
Cordovese and by his own people, making a gain, 
as it would appear, by the information which he 
every now and then imparts to the authorities of 
Cordova, while it does not, in the slightest degree, 
restrain them from carrying out any of their fa- 
vourite schemes of plunder. It is however, as far as 
it goes, an encouraging fact, and seems to indicate 
pretty clearly, that, had a conciliatory system been 
acted upon, in good faith, by the Spaniards, even 
after they had, by wresting from the Aborigines a 
great portion of the possessions of their ancestors, 
inflicted upon them a deep and still rankling wound ; 
a compromise might have been effected, and a channel 
opened, through which, in the course of time, a 
friendly intercourse might have sprung up. But 
such isolated and self-interested attempts, as that to 
which I have referred, are ill calculated to bring 
about so desirable an end. I am by no means in- 
clined to regard the probability of entering their 
country for Missionary purposes, as hopeless, — under 
the most favourable circumstances, it cannot fail to 
be a work of time ; still, it is an undertaking of such 
vast and vital importance, that nothing short of an 
absolute closing of the door should deter us from 
making the attempt. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



87 



THE PATAGONIANS. 



The Patagonians inhabit that part of the continent 
included between the River Negro, and the straits 
of Magalhaen, eastward of the Cordillera, but it is 
less thinly peopled than any other portion of the 
country, on account of the extensive districts which 
are not only arid and rocky, but entirely devoid of 
herbage, and consequently of game ; and the 
scarcity of drinkable water. Although so few in 
number as not probably to exceed 14,000 or 15,000 
at the utmost, (and perhaps this may hereafter be 
found to exceed the actual population,) they are 
divided into five tribes ; — the Lullamuch, the Pay- 
niken, the Karmus, the Harwaneki, and the 
Tatchwell. Possessing no domestic animals except 
horses and dogs, and having neither the knowledge 
which is requisite, nor the inclination to cultivate 
the soil, they are purely a nation of hunters, gather- 
ing indeed a few roots and berries in the season, but 
subsisting almost entirely upon the game which they 
pursue in the open plains, such as guanaco, ostrich, 
and armadillo, of which the former are the most 
numerous. Being so entirely dependent upon their 
success in hunting for their daily food, it cannot be 
matter 'of surprise that they are migratory. As the 
herds of guanaco, in quest of herbage, move from 



38 



A YOICE FROM 



one district to another, these skilful hunters, who, 
from constant practice, anticipate their periodical 
haunts, follow their track : and when they congre- 
gate, as they invariably do in the winter, in the 
vicinity of the coast, thither their pursuers likewise 
repair, and fix their camp. But though so migra- 
tory, and for so good a reason, while unacquainted 
with any better mode of supplying food for their 
families, they still have their favourite places for 
encampment, to which, from time to time they 
return, and each tribe is usually found within certain 
tolerably denned limits. For instance, the Lullamuch 
are found on the banks of the River Negro ; the 
Payniken in a district further south : the Karnus 
occupy another tract midway between them and the 
Harwaneki, whose locations are in the immediate 
vicinity of the straits of Magalhaen, while the 
Tatchwell are found far to the westward, near the 
eastern slopes of the Cordillera, fronting the Archi- 
pelago of Madre del Dios, as nearly as I could 
ascertain from the account given me by a native of 
that part of the country, whom I met in 1842, 
during my stay in Oazy Harbour. 

The burden of government lies very lightly upon 
the shoulders of their chiefs, who, excepting when 
called upon to direct a hunting expedition, or to 
lead their warriors to battle, seldom intermeddle in 
the disputes or domestic affairs of their people; 
the head of each family being, by ancient prescrip- 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



39 



tion, regarded as at once both judge and jury, in 
his own particular circle, and there is seldom an 
appeal from his decision. They are polyganiists, 
but only to the extent which is usual in almost all 
the aboriginal tribes of this continent ; the common 
people having but one wife, while the chiefs, being 
better able to maintain a large household, are ac- 
customed to marry two ; but rarely more than three 
women. They live in tents formed of several large 
skins, each containing the prepared hides of eight 
or ten guanacos, very closely and neatly united 
together with the sinew of the ostrich. The fur 
side is placed without, supported by a few horizontal 
poles, resting upon others firmly stuck in the ground. 
On three sides they are thus enclosed, but the front, 
which, on account of the prevailing winds, is almost 
invariably placed to the eastward, is left open, until 
the sharp frosts of the winter months oblige them 
to close it with an additional skin, and even to keep 
up a good fire within, which during the remainder 
of the year is kindled near the entrance, without. 
The men are attired in a mantle of the same 
material as that which covers their tents, reaching 
from the shoulder to the ankle : the women wear a 
shorter mantle confined at the waist, and descending 
below the knees, and occasionally another, which 
covers the upper part of the body, and is confined 
by a metal or wooden skewer across the chest. As 
they have not yet attained the art of making any 



40 



A VOICE FROM 



description of pottery, they have recourse to the rudest 
substitutes for carrying water, collecting berries, &c, 
using for this purpose, skin bags and the bladders 
of animals ; so that in removing their encamp- 
ments from place to place, they have little else 
with which to burden their horses, than the skins 
and poles which form their tents, and perhaps some 
quarters of guanaco meat, which is their principal 
food. Among them are still to be found, some 
sorcerers or wizards, though many of these were 
killed some years ago, by order of Quansi, at that 
time the principal chief of their nation, — but we look 
in vain for any vestage of religious worship ; no 
sacrifices are now offered ; no prayers are made, and 
they have but a very indistinct idea of a Supreme 
Being, for whom, however, they have two names, 
sometimes calling him Keka-once, and as frequently 
Tchur. Whatever goes ill with them, they attribute 
to the influence of two evil spirits, whose abode is 
in the Moon ; while they regard the sun as preemi- 
nently the residence of the Deity. In general they 
have proved themselves to be friendly and hospitable 
to strangers, though, under certain circumstances, 
induced by poverty on the one hand, and the ease 
with which they could extort the abundant, but 
absolutely necessary supplies, brought by their visi- 
tors on the other ; they have, (as was the case during 
our residence in Gregory Bay,) — evinced a degree 
of grasping cupidity, accompanied by a threatening 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



41 



demeanour, which, in their ordinary intercourse with 
foreigners, had, until that period been unobserved. 
Their numerical weakness as a people, is greatly 
increased by their section into so many small and 
widely separated tribes, which can rarely be united, 
even on occasions of emergency : and this circum- 
stance, combined with their passion for tobacco 
and trinkets, but more especially aquadiente (spirits) 
and biscuit, brings them into frequent contact with 
the Buenos Ayrian settlers at Carmen on the river 
Negro, and the Chilians at Port Famine : who 
spare no pains to win their confidence, and to 
induce them to embrace their creed ; so that, of all 
the independent tribes of South America, the 
circumstances of the Patagonians are at this moment 
perhaps the most critical. Already a considerable 
portion of the southern tribe, has fallen into the net 
that was prepared for them, and it is to be pre- 
sumed, on the data of all past experience, that 
they will not long retain their national indepen- 
dence. But imminently perilous as is their present 
position, in danger of being more than decimated 
by the poisonous effects of ardent spirits on the one 
hand, and of being subjected to a mental bondage, 
grievous to be borne on the other ; it is not, even 
now, too late, to make a last effort on behalf of the 
remainder of the nation, in the hope, by the bles- 
sing of God upon our endeavours, of rescuing them 
from a condition which it is painful to contemplate ; 



42 



A VOICE FRO 31 



but, if that effort should indeed be made, it cannot 
be too quickly commenced. I should by no means 
recommend a return to Gregory Bay, but entertain 
a good hope of ultimate success from another quarter. 

Having now completed a sketch (cursory indeed, 
but still sufficient for our purpose) of the southern 
tribes, I will endeavour to give some brief account 
of those which inhabit the more central parts of the 
continent, occupying that extensive territory which 
is known by the general name of the Gran Chaco. 
The greater part of this country is still a terra 
incognita to the Spanish Americans of the bordering 
states, and includes several tribes of Indians, of 
whom scarcely any thing but their name is known. 
In the south are the Guaycura and the Abipones, — 
beyond them are the Tobas and the Matacos, 
and still further north are the Chanases and the 
Arbas. 



THE ABIPONES. 

The Abipones inhabit the finest part of the pro- 
vince of Santiago del Estero, living in tents, but 
cultivating the ground, and have the reputation of 
being a haughty and warlike race. They occasion- 
ally decorate their heads with feathers, and strips of 
jaguar skin, but more commonly wear a simple band 
round the forehead, like the Puelches, Patagonians, 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



4a 



&c. Their garb, is a skin mantle, and a chilipa or 
waistcloth, which, is worn somewhat in the shape 
of drawers. Of late years, probably perceiving the 
weakness of their white neighbours, they have made 
frequent incursions into their territory. Xo less 
than five villages on the river Salado have been 
depopulated by them, and in December 1843, during 
the time that I was in that neighbourhood, a village 
called Anatuya, not far from Matara, was attacked. 
They appeared first with fifty, and soon afterwards 
with about 700 men, and as there was no force to 
oppose them, several of the inhabitants were killed, 
many of the women arid children were made cap- 
tives, aud great numbers of horses and cattle were 
driven off. It is said that among them are many 
individuals of different colours, some " rubios " or 
reddish brown, some very dark, and others nearly 
white ; but this may be accounted for from the 
number of women whom they invariably make 
captives hi their plundering expeditions. The only 
individual of this nation whom I have seen, was 
very dark, approaching the colour of the KafTer 
tribes of South Africa. 



THE MAT AC OS AND TOBAS. 



The Matacos and Tobas, are each a nation of 
hunters, wild and warlike in their character, and 



44 



A VOICE FROM 



have little regard to any thing like domestic comfort, 
living in huts rudely formed of bent bows, and so 
loosely covered with grass, that they afford but 
a poor shelter during a heavy shower of rain. The 
form is circular, and they are not sufficiently high to 
admit of a person standing upright ; in many respects 
they resemble the huts of the Zulus, but without 
their neatness, and with higher doors. The fire is 
generally made in the centre, but sometimes near 
the entrance. They sleep on raised bedsteads 
formed by a frame work of light poles or reeds, sup- 
ported by four low posts stuck into the ground ; 
this apparent luxury found among a people in other 
respects so rude, has o doubt originated from the 
apprehension of being bitten at night by snakes, 
which in that part of the country, are not only 
numerous, but venemous. In their migrations, 
which are frequent, they do not encumber themselves 
with any part of these temporary dwellings : during 
times of peace these are left standing, and fresh huts 
are erected in the newly chosen abode, but, should 
they happen to be at war, which is frequently the 
case, they set fire to their encampment before they 
finally quit the spot, in order that their movements 
may not be traced by their enemies. They possess 
many horses, and a few sheep, but are little addicted 
to agriculture, cultivating only a few patches of 
ground with maize, beans and water melons, but not 
in sufficient quantities for their own consumption ; 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



45 



on which account they are accustomed to make long 
journeys, in order to supply the deficiency, by pur- 
chasing from the Arbas. The Mataco yillages which 
I haye seen, contain from eight to twenty-three huts, 
are built without the slightest regard to regularity, 
and haye no exterior fence. It is usual for both 
men and women to wear their hair long and hanging 
down loosely behind, though the men sometimes 
confine it by a band, in the manner of the Williches. 
The men coyer the lower part of the body with a 
cloth of their own manufacture, and frequently wear 
a sort of frock without sleeves, reaching to the loins, 
and fitting closely to the body. This garment, 
which is a war dress, is formed of twine, spun 
from the tough fibres of a low cactus, which is met 
with in many parts of the country ; the texture is 
beautifully netted, and the meshes are so close 
together, that it is capable of resisting the point of 
an arrow. It has no opening in front, but is 
drawn oyer the head, and is generally stained with 
different colours in stripes or diamonds. Of the 
same material they also make yery neat and durable 
baskets, or rather bags, which they often barter 
with the Bolivians. Their weapons are spears, bows 
and arrows, and clubs : every man also wears a war 
whistle suspended round his neck. The same 
custom likewise prevails among the Arbas, the Cha- 
nases, and the Tobas, and by this means, in the 
darkest night, or in the most confused attack, each 



46 



A VOICE FROM 



individual of a tribe can recognize his comrade by 
the peculiarity of the sound emitted from this in- 
strument, which is both loud and shrill. The 
domestic habits of the Tobas and the Matacos, is so 
similar, that it need only be remarked of the former, 
that their localities are chiefly to be found on the 
banks of the Pilcomayo, that they possess more 
horses than the Matacos, and are considered to be 
the most formidable of all the tribes of the Chaco, 
from their expertness in riding, and dexterity in 
managing their spears ; so that in the open country, 
which is suitable to that kind of warfare, they almost 
invariably overcome their opponents. These people 
perforate the lower part of the ear, and by con- 
stantly wearing a wooden plug, which fills up the 
orifice, the ears of the men, to whom this decoration 
alone pertains, are gradually elongated until they 
reach the shoulder. Their deceased chiefs are 
interred in the house in which they died, but not 
in earthern vessels, as is customary among the Arbas 
and the Chanases. The poorer class convey the 
body to a distance from the village, and place it in 
a sitting posture, near the trunk of a tree, where a 
fire is kindled, and a bundle of faggots are laid in 
readiness to renew it, should this be required : 
water also is provided, but, as no watch is kept, it 
very frequently happens, as might be expected, that 
the remains of the individual thus exposed, are de- 
voured by the jaguars. It is said that the country 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



47 



inhabited by the Tobas, is free from the ague, which 
during the rainy season prevails in many parts of 
the Bolivian frontier ; but this is a point which has 
yet to be ascertained, as regards Europeans. 



AREAS AND CHANASES. 



As the language of the Arbas and Chanases is the 
same, and there is little difference in their domestic 
habits, it will not be necessary to speak of them 
separately ; only bearing in mind that the former are 
the most numerous, and the latter more cleanly ; 
that the Chanases build larger houses, and are al- 
together a superior people, at least, that portion of 
the nation which I have seen, in the district of 
Ytiuru. Like all the tribes of this continent, they 
acknowledge no particular Chief as their sovereign, 
one or two of superior influence being regarded as 
their leaders and advisers on particular occasions, 
but every village however small, has its own 
Chieftain. Among the Chanases, and I believe also 
among the Arbas, there is a superior order of Chiefs, 
who rule over districts containing two, three, or 
more villages ; but all, whether heads of villages or 
districts, have the privilege of a voice in the general 
council, and without the consent of the majority no 
matter of importance, such as war or peace, is 
decided upon. 



48 



A VOICE FKOM 



They manufacture their own clothes of cotton, 
which is indigenous, and grows in abundance in many 
parts of the country ; the men wear a short piece of 
this cloth round the waist, and a mantle of the same 
material. Their long hair is sometimes confined by 
a band worn round the forehead, but is generally 
allowed to hang down loosely behind and on each 
side of the face. One sole garment, called the 
"tiro," constitutes the dress of the women : it is in 
shape like a sack, open at each end, and sits so 
loosely on the body, that it serves as a receptacle 
also for a child, which is often carried in the fold 
behind the shoulders. They have a peculiar 
method of managing this simple, but somewhat in- 
commodious garment, by drawing it tightly over the 
shoulders, and confining it by the elbows by 
which means it is prevented from dropping off ; 
when the hands are employed, it is merely con- 
fined at the waist. These ladies often adorn 
their cheeks by rubbing them over with the 
pollen of a flowering shrub, which is generally 
found, carefully fenced round, in the vicinity of the 
dwellings. It produces a bright pink colour, and 
remains long on the skin. Among the Arbas, the 
men disfigure their faces by perforating a hole in the 
fleshy part of the lower lip, a little above the chin, 
and in this unsightly orifice, which is regarded as 
no small embellishment, a piece of coloured tin, 
about the size and shape of a coat button, is con- 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



49 



stantly worn. This is the distinctive mark of the 
nation, and is assumed at the age of thirteen or 
fourteen, but not earlier. No ceremony takes place 
on the occasion, the father or the nearest male re- 
lation, making the incision, by means of a sharp in- 
strument, with his own hand. This singular deco- 
ration, which is peculiar to the Arbas, has obtained 
for them, in the province of Salt a, the name of 
" Botones " (buttons) but in Bolivia they are 
usually called, Chiriguanos, which is a compound 
word of Quichua origin, signifying, ' f died of cold," 
in allusion to the first individual of that nation who 
entered Peru, and who was found dead in the cold 
regions of the Cordillera. They live in villages 
containing from about six to twenty-five houses, 
which are irregularly disposed around a large circular 
area with intervals between them. They generally 
contrive to preserve some large shady trees to deco- 
rate the centre of the area, under which they fre- 
quently assemble for public business, conversation, 
or to indulge in their favourite beverage, chicha. 
These villages, backed as they generally are, by 
wooded hills, are picturesque. The form of their 
house is rectangular, with rather low pitched roofs ; 
the frame is composed of reeds or light poles, bound 
together by the tough and flexible climbers, which 
abound in the woods. The roof, which is thatched 
with palmyra branches, where these can be obtained, 
otherwise with grass, is supported by an interior 

E 



50 



A VOICE FROM 



row of posts firmly stuck in the ground. The side 
walls are low, and generally thatched like the roof: 
there are no apertures for light, excepting the door, 
which is situated in one of the gables, and through 
the interstices of the reeds which close them in. 
The largest house of this description which I have 
seen, was one belonging to Maiki, a Chanasi Chief, 
which was about fifty feet in length and thirty 
wide, supported by three interior rows of posts, at 
regular distances apart. Eight hammocks were sus- 
pended in different directions, from the roof to the 
centra] posts, in which they take their siestas by 
day and repose at night. They are made of cotton 
twine, strongly united in open meshes, and but for the 
multitude of fleas which they generally harbour, they 
would be exceedingly comfortable. Bows, arrows 
and spears were stuck about in different parts of the 
roof within ; and in one corner were suspended 
several war jackets, made of thick, but flexible 
leather of their own tanning. They are very 
similar in form to the doublets worn by the military 
in our own country in the 16th century : the sleeves 
being wide, and the skirts reaching to the hips. 
During the heats of summer, on the plains of the 
Gran Chaco, such an accoutrement must be rather 
oppressive, but they are in great esteem, as they 
resist the point of an arrow, which will not pene- 
trate them, and as these in time of war, are invariably 
poisoned, this leathern garment is an important 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



31 



species of armour. Many of the warriors also use a 
skull cap with a narrow brim of the same material. 

They display much ingenuity in the variety 
of earthenware bowls which they make, and in 
carving the wooden trenchers, or shallow basons, 
in which they take their meals. Their drinking 
vessels are composed of calabashes cut in half longi- 
tudinally ; each section forming a cup. The largest 
description of pottery which they make, are the jars 
or bowls, used for making chicha, which hold from 
fifteen to about twenty-five gallons each. These 
bowls, as also their drinking vessels, are usually 
stained with ornamental devices, the colouring being 
generally red and black. On the skirts of the Chaco, 
deer are frequently found, and hunting parties are 
often out in pursuit of them, as also of ostriches <kc. 
but, although they depend much on their success in 
hunting, for subsistence, their usual diet is maize, 
cooked in different ways ; pumkins, water melons, 
and a dish called "makarai," which is composed of 
beans or calavancers, boiled with red Chili pepper. 
The men perform the principal part of the field 
labour ; the women doing little more in that depart- 
ment than to carry the produce, when ripe, to their 
dwellings. Among the Chiefs, polygamy obtains, 
to the extent of two, and in some remarkable in- 
stances, four wives ; but the common people adhere 
to the original institution at the creation, not indeed 
on principle, but on account of their poverty. Their 
e 2 



52 



A VOICE FROM 



ideas of religion, if it deserves the name, are ex- 
tremely limited and confused. They believe in the 
existence of a Supreme Being, whom they call 
Tupa or Tumpa, and in an evil spirit, named Ania, 
supposing that the former resides somewhere in the 
sky : hut that Ania is continually roaming about on 
the earth, especially during the night ; so that when- 
ever they hear any unusual sound during that period, 
they invariably attribute it to the agency of the evil 
spirit, and infer that he is somewhere in the neigh- 
bourhood. The generality of them do not allow 
that there is a separate state of existence after the 
death of the body, and conceive that both body and 
spirit are annihilated at that period : I have, how- 
ever, heard doubts expressed as to this point. They 
offer no sacrifices, have no idols among them, and 
seem to have no ostensible worship of any kind. 
At the death of an individual, loud lamentations are 
made, which are continuedfor some time. I have heard 
them distinctly at a distance of two miles. The ex- 
ternal badge of mourning for a widow, is that of 
cutting the hair quite short behind, and until this 
has grown sufficiently long to reach the shoulders 
she is not allowed to marry again. 

They have a singular method of interring their 
dead ; the body, in a sitting posture, is placed 
(sometimes with considerable pressure) in one of the 
large earthen vessels, which are employed for making 
? ehicha," and thus buried under the earthen floor 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



53 



of the house, in which the deceased died. x\ll that 
pertained to him, such as hammock cloths, eating 
vessels, and arms, if a warrior, is then collected, and 
burnt at some little distance from the village. It is 
worthy of remark, that this method of interment, 
as regards the posture, was customary among the 
ancient Peruvians, and is also practised (as I have 
witnessed) among the aborigines of Celebes, in the 
East Indies. Although the Chanases are friendly 
and hospitable to strangers who visit them, there 
are points in the national character of the Arbas and 
Matacos, which, render them more accessible to 
foreigners than the other Tribes of the Chaco ; and, 
consequently, offer greater facilities for Missionary 
efforts among them. They are the only people who 
condescend to seek employment among their Spa- 
nish-speaking neighbours ; many of the Arbas en- 
gage themselves for short periods of work on the 
farms about San Luis, and Carapari, in Bolivia; 
while numbers of Matacos are employed on the 
sugar estates in the neighbourhood of Oran ; and 
all these people are in frequent communication with 
the independent portion of their nation, who reside 
still further from the frontier. 

There is also another circumstance as respects the 
Arbas, which is of no minor importance ; their lan- 
guage is not only the most generally spoken in the 
northern part of the Chaco, but it is also understood 
by individuals among the Matacos, and the Tobas, 



54 



A VOICE FROM 



who have each a distinct language differing from the 
Arba, while the latter, as I have been informed, on 
good authority, is identical with the Guarani. A 
dictionary and grammar of the Guarani, originally 
compiled by the Jesuits, is still extant, and so pre" 
vaient is that language throughout Paraguay, and a 
great portion of western Brazil, that it has obtained 
from the Portuguese and Creoles, of that empire the 
appellation of " La lingua geral," (the general lan- 
guage.) In connexion with this subject, it should 
be born in mind, that the facilities for acquiring this 
most important language, are as great in Paraguay 
as in Bolivia ; from either of which Republics, the 
Indian territory is equally accessible. 

But, as it is not desirable to enlarge on this part 
of the subject, I will therefore only add, that, after 
maturely weighing the information which, from vari- 
ous sources, I have acquired, bearing upon the sub- 
ject before us, I think I may safely say that, with 
the exception of British Guayana, where it is re- 
freshing to think there is a beautiful oasis in the 
moral desert, under the superintendance of the 
Church Missionary Society, there are but three 
eligible openings for Protestant Missionaries through- 
out the entire continent, south of the Isthmus. One 
of these, and one only, after the lapse of more than 
three centuries from the discovery of these vast re- 
gions, is at length partially occupied, and it is sin- 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



cerely to be hoped that the other two will not long 



be neglected. 



TERRA DEL FUEGO. 

Passing the Straits of Magalhaen, a noble field 
opens to our view in Terra del Fuego ; happily, as 
yet, untrodden by Jesuit or Friar, and so proximate 
to our recently planted Colony in the Falkland 
Islands, that it might be entered upon with peculiar 
advantages. It is girdled indeed by a tempestuous 
sea, and subject to the rigours of an almost antarctic 
winter, but it is free from those disturbing influences 
which, while Popery retains its ascendency in that 
quarter of the world, will not fail to clog the wheels of 
the Missionary car. wherever it may travel on the 
continent. The acknowledged degradation and 
barbarity of a people, such as those of whom we 
are now speaking, will not surely be admitted by 
any sincere Christian as an argument for passing 
them by, and abandoning them as hopeless ; and 
thus, as it were, i( limiting the Holy One of Israel," 
and setting human boundaries to His omnipotence 
and love ; but will rather be regarded as a case 
which has a peculiar claim to his sympathy and 
his prayers, and calls for more than ordinary Mis- 
sionary exertions on their behalf. 

The natives of the main, or eastern Island in 



56 



A VOICE FROM 



many respects resemble the Patagonians, and but 
for the difference of language, might be supposed 
to be of the same origin. They enjoy abetter climate 
than that of their western neighbours, which is 
proverbially wet and humid, — and, having little or 
no intercourse with the crews of the sealing vessels, 
which frequent the other Islands, are much more 
favourably circumstanced for the introduction of 
Missionaries among them. 

Whenever this shall be undertaken, and the Lord 
grant that it may be speedily, the following plan 
will, I think be found, under the Divine blessing, to 
be the best adapted for carrying it into effect, and 
giving it permanency, — the mere outline of which, 
may be given in a few words — as follows : 

To form the first Station on the west end of 
Staten Island, which is only fifteen miles distant 
from the easternmost point of Terra del Fuego. 
That island is uninhabited, but contains excellent 
harbours with wood and water in abundance ; and 
supplies for any length of time might there be de- 
posited, and kept in perfect security. A decked 
boat, with a small one for landing, should be 
brought out from England, in which frequent visits 
could be made to the Fuegian coast, and by this 
means a friendly intercourse with the natives would 
gradually be opened. 

The option of two modes of proceeding would 
then lie before us ; either to remove to the Fuegian 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



5 7 



side, or to induce a few of the natives to accompany 
us across, and take up their abode at the Station 
on Staten Island, Until the language has been 
acquired, I am inclined to think that the latter 
would be the preferable plan ; and there can be 
little doubt that, with the powerful inducement of a 
few suitable presents, and the promise of a daily 
supply of food, (which, as there are no guanaco on 
Staten Island would be necessary) a sufficient num- 
ber of Fuegians might be collected at the Station, 
to enable the Missionaries to study their language. 
Vessels bound to the Pacific, pass very near to 
Staten Island, and it would be much easier for them 
to communicate with a settlement so situated, than 
with one to the westward of the strait of Le Maire. 
The position of Staten Island is admirably adapted 
for commencing a great Missionary work among the 
aborigines o f the adjacen t coasts ; and there is every 
reason to believe that Patagonians as well as Fue- 
gians, might be induced to visit so centrical a spot, 
were a Station once formed upon it ; since it is well 
known that a small party of the former nation, in- 
cluding the well known iC Maria/' once crossed over 
from Gregory Bay, to the Falkland islands, and I 
have myself heard them express their satisfaction 
at their reception. 

Should this place be carried into effect, (and 
surely the many advantages which it appears to 
offer, entitle it to a trial ;) a school might be formed 



58 



A VOICE FROM 



on Staten Island, for the express purpose of train- 
ing up Patagonian and Fuegian youths, and pre- 
paring them for future usefulness among their 
respective countrymen. 

Much as I should rejoice to see every opening 
on the continent fully and efficiently occupied ; on 
many accounts, I am inclined to regard Terra del 
Fuego, as only next to the Gran Chaco in Mission- 
ary importance, and a country to which the attention 
of the Patagonian Missionary Society should first 
be directed, as soon as the necessary means for 
extending their Mission can be procured. The 
grounds on which this opinion has been formed, are 
simply these. It can easily be approached and 
supplied by sea : it is beyond the reach of any 
external influence, which might counteract our en- 
deavours ; and there is much to encourage the hope 
that by following out a plan similar to that which I 
have ventured to propose, it may eventually become 
a nucleus for the education of native Teachers, 
for two distinct nations ; at all events, an asylum 
where English Missionaries might, without distur- 
bance, acquire their language, preparatory to entering 
among them. 

It is granted that considerable expense will attend 
the plan which has been referred to, — that four men 
at least should be engaged as a crew for the boat, 
and that their services would be required for a con- 
siderable time ; yet, in no other way can I well 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



59 



conceive, that a Mission can be successfully com- 
menced in Terra del Fuego. In summing up the 
different items of expenditure, I should say, in 
round numbers, that not less than £670, would be 
required for the first year, and about £250 annually 
afterwards. 

It is quite evident that so large a sum could not 
be met by the Society, without a proportionate 
effort on the part of those whose hearts the Lord 
has opened to feel for the heathen ; more especially 
that portion of them for whom I am now pleading ; 
and some, hi despondency, may be ready to question 
the possibility of obtaining so large an accession 
to our funds. In concluding this chapter, I will 
endeavour to meet this apparent difficulty, by a 
method of very easy application, and which I feel 
assured will not impoverish the most necessitous who 
is willing to make the experiment. 

Let each individual who is interested in this 
blessed work, and desirous that the Gospel message 
should be conveyed to the poor, despised, and long 
neglected natives of Terra del Fuego, set apart the 
sum which would be required for the maintenance of 
himself or his family, in food for two days in two 
successive years, and afterwards for one day only 
per annum ; let the amount be paid quarterly, for the 
first two years, by post office orders, or otherwise, 
to Messrs. Gower and Co., 28 Coleman Street, Lon- 
don , where an account is open with the Patagonian 



60 



A VOICE FROM 



Missionary Society specifying for what particular 
Mission it is intended ; and there is little doubt 
that a sufficient fund would be collected to enable 
the Society to commence this most important work, 
and thus make a late, but effectual effort to rescue 
by the Divine blessing upon their labours, a large 
portion of our fellow men from the power and 
dominion of Satan, and to convey the glad tidings 
of a Saviour's love, to the remotest inhabited region 
of the southern hemisphere. 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



61 



CHAPTER III. 

The carte blanche accorded by Pope Alexander VI, 
himself a Spaniard, to Spain and Portugal, of 
sovereignty over all the countries which they had 
and might thenceforth discover ; ceding to each its 
respective right, east and west, of a meridian from 
pole to pole, fixed at 100 leagues west of the 
Azores, is well known. This unwarrantable, but 
as it has proved, most important edict, was issued 
in 1493 ; subject however to one condition, the 
effects of which are still in lamentable progress ; 
that the respective powers, in whose favour this 
sweeping grant was made, should use all their efforts 
to reduce the entire population of those several 
countries to the faith of Rome. 

From that moment conquest and proselytism went 
hand in hand ; in other words, full liberty was 
given by his Holiness of Rome, to grasp the land, 
and enslave the bodies of its legal possessors by 
force of arms, if it were necessary, in order that a 



62 



A VOICE FROM 



far more galling chain might be ri vetted on their 
consciences. 

Impelled by the double fires of cupidity and am- 
bition, and the exciting fervours of a debased Chris- 
tianity, many ardent spirits went forth to execute 
what, in the eyes of admiring Europe, appeared at 
the time, a most laudable enterprise. The achieve- 
ments and career of Pizarro and his associates are 
well known, but the sphere of his conquests did 
not extend beyond Peru. The first attempt to enter 
Chili, was made by Almagro, and it is remarkable 
that, with all the advantage of horses and guns, which 
he possessed, he was unable to make any impression 
on the natives of that country, and met with so 
serious and so unexpected a check in his very first 
encounter with them, near the Rio Claro, that he 
abandoned all further attempts to prosecute his plans 
of conquest, and shortly afterwards retraced his 
steps, and returned with his whole force to Cuzco. 

Short and disastrous as was this first attempt, to 
subjugate the countries south of Peru, there were 
circumstances attending it which stamp an indelible 
brand upon the character of Almagro, and to which 
no doubt, may be traced the odium in which his 
countrymen were afterwards held, and the pertina- 
cious resistance which the natives every where made 
to the progress of the Spaniards. At the com- 
mencement, Almagro prosecuted his march without 
any impediment on the part of the inhabitants ; 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



63 



who, on many occasions rendered him assistance, 
and supplied his troops with provisions. Mistaking 
the motives which induced these acts of kindness, 
and being accustomed to treat the Peruvian pea- 
santry with little ceremony, two of his advanced 
guard who had preceded him to Huasco, com- 
mitted so many flagrant acts of oppression by 
the way, that, on entering the town, the people, 
enraged at their conduct, fell upon them and cut 
them to pieces. Almagro, incensed at the occur- 
rence, but making an allowance for the provocation 
which had been given, had no sooner entered the 
place, than he ordered the Ulman of Huasco and 
twenty-six of the principal persons to be marched 
to Coquimbo, when, in the hope of overawing the 
populace by a terrible act of retribution ; the whole 
of these unfortunate persons, were, by his order 
committed to tbe flames, and publicly burnt alive ! 
This unjustifiable and barbarous deed was perpetra- 
trated prior to the battle on the Eio Claro, and 
from that moment, as history informs us, the war 
waged by the Spaniards in Chili, became more and 
more disastrous. Pizarro, who still held the Viceregal 
authority in Peru, intent upon extending his juris- 
diction in the south, and adding Chili to the do- 
minions of Spain : on the death of Almagro, who 
was executed in Cuzco in 1538, appointed as his 
successor Dn. Pedro Valdivia, one of his most dis- 
tinguished officers, who was especially charged with 



64 



A VOICE FROM 



the prosecution of the war in that devoted country. 
No time was lost, and in the following year, 1539, 
Valdivia with a well appointed army entered Chili. 

From this moment his progress hecame one con- 
tinued scene of conflict. Unlike the ductile natives 
of Peru, these hardy tribes were ever found with 
arms in their hands, ready to dispute his advance, 
and to cut off his communications with that country. 
Possessed of high military talents, and perceiving 
how futile all his attempts at conquest would prove, 
without some place of security from whence to 
recruit his men, and draw his supplies nearer than 
Peru ; and moreover, finding a large body of natives 
drawn up on the banks of the Mapocho prepared to 
dispute his passage, he resolved to proceed no 
further, until he had accomplished what was so ob- 
viously necessary. On the banks of this river he 
accordingly formed an entrenched camp, which 
gradually became a town, named by him Santiago, 
and which has ever since been the capital of Chili. 
It was commenced in 1541, and as soon as it was 
sufficiently supplied with provisions, and munitions 
of war, Yaldivia again took the field, and proceeded 
towards the south. So masterly were all his mea- 
sures, and so rapid and vigorous were his movements, 
that but a very few years elapsed, before he found 
himself the undisputed lord of all the country, from 
the confines of Peru, to the banks of the Bio-bio ; 
near which, in the Bay of Concepcion, he founded 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



65 



in 1550 another town, which he named Penco, in 
order to form an asylum for his troops, and to give 
permanency to the conquests he had already made. 
The population of Penco, which was subsequently 
abandoned, were removed some years afterward to 
Concepcion, which is situated a few miles to the 
eastward of the original settlement. 

The Araucanians were not idle observers of these 
proceedings, as will appear by the following extract 
from Molina's History of Chili: "The Araucanians 
being informed of the difficulties in which their 
neighbours, the inhabitants of Penco were, sent to their 
assistance 4,000 men, under the command of Ailla- 
bilu. This intrepid general, as soon as he reached 
Penco, boldly olfered battle to his new enemies, who, 
well prepared, went out to meet him on the banks of 
the iiiidalien, where he sustained the first discharge 
of musquetry without the slightest alarm or dis- 
order; and, by a rapid movement, threw himself 
upon the flank and front of the Spanish army, which 
soon formed into square ; and, supported by their 
cavalry, repulsed them with their accustomed 
bravery. 

The battle remained undecided for several hours, 
during which the Spaniards sustained a severe loss, 
and General Valdivia himself, whose horse was 
killed by a blow from a club, narrowly escaped with 
his life. This desperate conflict was at length 
ended by the fall of Aillabilu, and many of his 

F 



66 



A VOICE PROM 



brave officers ; on which the Indians retired in good 
order, leaving the field to the Spaniards." 

Shortly after this battle, Yaldivia crossed the 
Biobio ; and, notwithstanding the hostile reception 
which he every where experienced, so well concerted 
were all his measures, that, in the course of the two 
following years, he acquired the military command 
of ail the territory belonging to the Tribes now 
called Araucanians. In the hope of retaining per- 
manent possession of a country so hardly won, he 
ordered no less than eight fortresses to be built, and 
garrisoned in different points, which he respectively 
named Imperial, Yaldivia, Yillarica, Arauco, Tucapel, 
Puren, and confines. The two first soon became 
cities : and Imperial, which was the capital of the 
new province, was provided with a cathedral, and 
erected into a Bishoprick. 

Yaldivia little knew the people whom he had sub- 
dued : and, vainly imagining that the work of con- 
quest was completed, soon afterwards returned to 
Concepcion. A brief interval of calm succeeded ; but, 
like the temporary suspension of one of the neigh- 
bouring volcano s, it was but the precursor of a more 
violent and destructive explosion. Colocolo, a chief, 
now advanced in years, but whose council was de- 
ferred to by all, brought about through his great in- 
fluence the election of Canpolican as Toki, and so 
aroused the patriotic spirit of his countrymen, and 
animated them with the prospect of recovering their 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



67 



lost independence, that they rose up as one man, 
resolving to expel the invaders from their soil, or 
to perish in the attempt. 

Canpolican, partaking of the general enthusaism, 
and finding himself at the head of a numerous army, 
at once took the field, and before Yaldivia had time 
to reinforce or withdraw his garrisons, Arauco and 
Tucapel were taken and razed to the ground. The 
successful Toki awaited the arrival of the Spanish 
army near the ruins of Tucapel, and was then soon 
confronted with Yaldivia, who, on the first intelli- 
gence of these unexpected events, immediately put 
his forces in motion. In the battle which ensued 
the Araucanians, after a desperate struggle, were at 
length defeated and began to fly ; when, suddenly, 
the tide of success was reversed, and the Indians 
recovered their ground, and were led on to victory 
by the intrepidity of a youth of only sixteen years 
of age. Lautaro, an Araucanian by birth, had been 
brought up by Yaldivia, and attended upon him as a 
page ; but no sooner did he perceive that Ins coun- 
trymen were routed, than he passed over from the 
side of the victors to that of the vanquished, whom 
he energetically exhorted to stand firm, assuring 
them that many of the Spaniards were wounded, 
and that they had only to maintain the conflict a 
little longer, and they would be overcome. On this 
he seized a spear ; and, advancing towards his 
former master, exclaimed, Cf Follow me comrades, 

F 2 



68 



A VOICE FROM 



follow me, victory awaits us with open arms." 
Shamed by the enthusiastic bravery of the youth, 
the Araucanians threw themselves with such fury 
upon the Spaniards, that in a very short space of 
time they were completely defeated, and Yaldivia 
himself was made prisoner. The general begged 
that his life might be granted, and implored the 
intercession of Lautaro in his behalf, promising to 
leave Chili, and return with his people to Spain. 

" The noble and generous Canpolican, says th 
historian, was inclined to accede to the intreaties 
and promises of the Spanish General ; but, while 
they were deliberating as to his life or death in a 
general council, an old and respected chief of great 
influence, enraged at hearing them speak of pardon, 
broke the head of the unfortunate prisoner with a 
violent blow from his heavy club, saying, " This is 
the way to shorten altercation. What folly to treat 
with an ambitious enemy, who, should he escape 
from his present critical circumstances, will laugh 
at his vows and our stupidity and simplicity in giving 
them credence." 

It would not only be tedious, but unnecessary, to 
follow, even in a cursory manner, the details of these 
long and sanguinary wars, with the alternate losses 
and successes on either side ; the Spaniard ever 
aiming at conquest and dominion ; the Indians nobly 
struggling for liberty and peace. A few of the most 
remarkable incidents must not however be omitted, 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



69 



as they will tend to illustrate the character of the 
tribes of whom we are speaking. 

Don Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, who succeeded 
Valdivia in the government of Chili, had resort to 
the most cruel methods of infusing terror, if it were 
possible, into the minds of these hardy people, who 
could not be depressed even by repeated defeats. 
Having gained a battle near Penco, Galvarino, one 
of the bravest of the chiefs who had opposed him, 
was made prisoner ; but no sooner was he brought 
before the inhuman Governor, than he ordered both 
his hands to be cut off ; and thus, maimed and 
streaming with blood, he was sent back to his coun- 
trymen. This barbarous act so inflamed the enmity 
of the Araucanians against their cruel oppressors, 
that they swore perpetual war against them ; and, 
even the women, resolved from thenceforth to accom- 
pany their husbands to the field. 

Notwithstanding his crippled condition, the brave 
Galvarino still continued with the army, and was 
present animating them by his voice and his ges- 
tures, during a subsequent battle, in which they 
were again defeated, and he had the misfortune to 
fall a second time into the hands of the merciless 
Don Garcia ; who, not contented with securing the 
person of a defenceless individual, ordered him, 
together with eleven other chiefs, to be hanged to 
the boughs of the neighbouring trees. 

Canpolican had now been defeated in three sue- 



7u 



A VOICE FROM 



cessive battles, but neither bis spirit nor that of his 
troops was broken ; and, to the utter surprise of his 
late opponents, he was soon again found leading his 
harassed, but undaunted army, to the assault of the 
strong fortress of Canete. After a well contested 
action under its wails, he was again defeated ; and, 
with only ten followers, effected his escape, con- 
cealing himself from his pursuers in the thickets of 
a neighbouring forest. One of these men treache- 
rously betrayed his chief, who was soon afterwards 
surrounded by a body of Spanish troops, and con- 
ducted by the renegade to the fort. 

Notwithstanding the great desparity in numbers, 
Canpolican and his brave followers defended them- 
selves for some time, until at length overpowered, he 
was brought a prisoner into Canete. His wife, who 
had remained with him during the conflict, was 
still by his side at the time of his capture, and re- 
garding his surrender as an act of pusilanimity, 
gave vent to her emotion by unfolding the infant 
which she held in her arms, and exclaiming ; Cf Take, 
vile creature, your son, I will keep nothing that be- 
longs to a coward ! " 

Reinoso, the Spanish commandant, not content 
with the capture of so celebrated a chief, ordered 
him to be impaled, and in that situation to be shot 
at with arrows ; on which Canpolican, still retaining 
his composure, and assuming a commanding attitude, 
addressed him thus ; — 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



71 



" From my death, General, no other fruit would 
result, than that of inflaming, to a still higher pitch, 
the burning hatred of my countrymen against your 
nation, who are not to be intimidated by the death 
of an unfortunate chief : from my ashes will arise 
many more Canpolicans, more fortunate, perhaps 
than I. On the contrary, should you be willing to 
grant me my life, I can, with the great power which 
I possess throughout the country, advance the in- 
terests of your sovereign, and contribute to the pro- 
pagation of your religion ; causing the entire Arau- 
canian state to embrace the faith of Jesus Christ : 
which at their peril they should refuse ; but if 
you are resolved to condemn me to death, my 
only request is, to be sent to your king, and if my 
lord should see fit to cause me to be put to death, 
which I do not deserve for defending my country, I 
will end my days in Spain, without giving occasion 
to any fresh disturbances in my country.' 5 

This manly and touching speech made no impres- 
sion on the obdurate heart of Reinoso, who ordered 
the previous sentence forthwith to be put into ex- 
ecution. Thus died, in 1578, the brave Canpolican, 
a striking contrast to the merciless wretch into whose 
hands he had the misfortune to fall. " Surely," adds 
the historian, " the remembrance of his generosity 
towards Valdivia, whom he would have spared when 
in his power, should have ensured him a very dif- 
ferent treatment." 



72 



A VOICE FROM 



In 1583 the Pawenches made a descent into Chili, 
and committed great devastations in the province of 
Chilian. They were driven back by the Marquis de 
Villa Hermosa, who shortly afterwards entered the 
Araucanian territory, resolved to prosecute the war 
with the utmost rigour. Every person taken with 
arms in his hands, was hanged on the spot ; others 
were deprived of their hands, and sent back, in the 
hope of intimidating their countrymen. 

Towards the close of 1590, a strong and well 
garrisoned fort, situated on the heights of Mariguenu, 
was attacked, and carried by 2000 Araucanians, 
under the Toki Quintugiienu. The position was 
too important to be left in the hands of the Indians, 
and accordingly a large force was soon put in motion, 
in order, if possible, to dislodge them. The engage- 
ment which ensued, was one of the most sanguinary 
that is recorded during the war, and terminated in 
the death of the Toki, and the defeat of his army ; 
Quintugiienu having received three mortal wounds. 
The last words which he uttered were, f£ Comrades, 
defend until death the freedom of the country ! " 
On hearing these words, and perceiving their Toki 
lying expiring on the ground, the already vanquished 
troops, became so enfuriated that, rather than sur- 
render, they allowed themselves to be cut to pieces, 
very few of them attempting to escape. 

To the disgrace of humanity, there were not want- 
ing among the Spanish leaders, worthy competitors 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



73 



with the Marquis de Villa Hermosa and Reinoso, in 
the art of cruelty. 

Lazo de Vega, the Governor, during the last three 
years of his power, which happily ended in 1638, 
irritated by the noble achievements of the Arauca- 
nians, who, though frequently beaten, were ever 
ready again to stand up in defence of their country, 
instigated his troops to perpetrate the meanest and 
the most atrocious acts of revenge. Foiled in his 
purpose of striking terror into the minds of the 
Indians, he had recourse to still greater cruelties, 
and deliberately ordered that every individual taken 
with arms in his hands, should be dispatched on 
the spot, and that all others should be subject to the 
loss of their hands, and thus mutilated, be sent 
back to their countrymen as a warning to others. 
This deplorable state of things continued for some 
time, until Lazo himself began to relent, and com- 
muted these dreadful penalties upon devoted 
patriotism, into banishment for life ; the unfortunate 
persons who fell into his hands, being transported to 
Peru, where they were publicly sold, and doomed to 
perpetual slavery ! It is remarked by the historian 
from whom these particulars are gleaned, that the 
Indians regarded this last condition as a far more 
rigorous punishment than death itself, and that on 
reaching the place where they were to be disem- 
barked, several of them jumped into the sea, and 
were drowned. 



74 



A VOICE FROM 



In 1/22, Lieutenant General Gabriel Cano, suc- 
cessor in the government of Chili to the Marquis de 
Caso Concha, arrived in Santiago, from Spain, 
bringing with him a body of 5,000 men, in the 
hope of bringing to a close, the long protracted and 
destructive war, with the Indians. Yilumilla, the 
Toki, far from being dispirited by this unwelcome 
news, assembled his troops, being persuaded that 
he should soon have to combat with the new 
Governor. But Cano, notwithstanding the frequent 
provocations which he met with, endeavoured by 
pacific measures, to bring the war to a satisfactory 
conclusion. The preliminary negotiations having 
been arranged to the satisfaction of both Generals, a 
public council was subsequently held between the 
chiefs of both parties, on the plain of Negrete 
situated near the confluence of the rivers Biobio and 
Laja, when it was agreed that the treaty of Quillin 
should be confirmed, which fixed the course of the 
R°. Biobio, as the limits between the two countries. 
The dismissal of the " Capitanes de amigos," whose 
overbearing conduct had occasioned the renewal of 
hostilities, was also conceded to the Indians. 

" Thus was a termination put to this most des- 
tructive pest, which for 182 years had raged in 
the province of Chili, the possession of which had 
cost the Spaniards more blood, and more money 
than all the rest of America, notwithstanding the 
distinguished men who were employed in the 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



75 



conquest of the country. The greater part of these 
officers were selected from the school of war, the 
Low Countries and Flanders ; and the troops who 
served under them, had the well merited reputation 
of being the best in the world ; but all, or at least 
the majority of them, met with a grave in the Arau- 
canian country, dying by the hands of those brave 
natives, who in order to defend their lands and pre- 
serve their liberty, suffered their country to be 
devastated, and themselves to be destroyed in great 
numbers." 

It is computed that from ten to twelve thousand 
Indians, including the auxiliary force employed by 
the Spaniards, were killed annually, which, during 
the whole period of 182 years, would amount to 
little short of two millions. This happy respite 
from war, which was brought about by the pacific 
measures of the Spanish Governor Cano, seems to 
have continued without intermission, until the be- 
ginning of 1773, when an attempt was made to 
induce the Araucanians to abandon their accustomed 
mode of living in scattered villages, and to persuade 
or rather to force them, to congregate in large 
numbers, and to build towns. A plan so directly 
opposed to their predilections and habits from time 
immemorial, was not likely to be carried into effect, 
without a national ferment, — on its very first pro- 
posal it met with the most decided opposition, and 
soon became the occasion of a renewal of hostiii- 



76 



A VOICE FHOM 



ties ; the following account of which is given by the 
Spanish writers of that period : 

" While the former Governors constructed towns, 
forts, and military posts, the pacific D. Antonio 
Guill, as soon as he came into power, attempted to 
do more than his predecessors. He endeavoured to 
make the Araucanians build cities, and to constrain 
them to inhabit them, but these habitual lovers of 
freedom summoned a general council to consider 
which mode of life was the most suitable. Having 
discussed this subject, so deeply important to them- 
selves, they resolved, 

First, — To leave the proposition which had been 
made to them open, giving by promises some ex- 
pectation of compliance. 

Secondly — In the event of being further urged, 
to ask for the implemeir s and t e as istance which 
would be requisite in order to construct the cities — 
but in fact to do nothing. 

Thirdly — To rush to arms on the instant, should 
the Spaniards attempt to m ke them work by force. 

Fourthly — Should this case arise, to permit the 
Missionaries residing amongst them, to leave the 
country without molestation. 

Fifthly — In order to be prepared for whatever 
might occur, to elect a Toki, who should be charged 
with the responsibility, of seeing these several re- 
solutions carried into effect, and who should make 
every preparation ior tne circumstances that might 
arise. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



77 



In virtue of this last resolution, Curinaco was 
elected Toki on the same day. D n . Antonio, tha 
Governor, in proposing his plan to the Indians, en- 
deavoured to present it to them in the most favour- 
able aspect, and as he became urgent in the matter, 
he was met alternately by opposition, concession, 
and prevarication ; until, at length, being wearied 
out, they applied for the necessary means for com- 
mencing the work. A quantity of tools and pro- 
visions were accordingly sent, together with oxen, 
and a number of overseers, masons, and other 
workmen ; but D. Salvador Cabrito, the Command- 
ant of Concepcion, perceiving that no progress was 
made, went himself shortly afterwards with several 
companies of soldiers in order to stimulate the 
workmen, with his presence. He appointed 
Major Ravira to superintend the construction of 
Xininco, and Captain Burgoa that of the other city, 
which was ordered to be built on the banks of the 
Biobio — Cabrito himself directing all the operations 
from Angol, where he had established his head 
quarters. 

The Indians employing their spears in preference 
to their spades, killed the overseers, and collecting a 
force of 500 men, pushed forward to the encamp- 
ment of Calrito, which they besieged, Burgoa suc- 
ceeded in passing the frontier, and Ravira who nar- 
rowly escaped with his life, was escorted by the 
missionaries, disguised as a friar, across the Biobio ; 



78 



A VOICE FROM 



but soon afterwards returned with 400 men to the 
succour of Cabrito, whom he soon released from his 
perilous situation, These occurrences took place 
in 1767, the Jesuits being expelled on the 25th of 
August of that year, since which period they have 
not been permitted to return. Many battles were 
subsequently fought, both parties suffering consi- 
derable loss, until at length, after a very sanguinary 
encounter in which Curinanco was defeated, over- 
tures of peace were made in 1773 by the Arauca- 
nians, which were agreed upon by the delagates who 
met in Santiago at the commencement of that year. 

Long after the struggle for independence was 
brought to a successful issue, and Chili was declared 
to be an independent state, by an act of Congress 
promulgated on the 12th of February, 1818, the 
Spaniards still maintained their ground in the South, 
holding the entire island of Chiloe and the terri- 
tory about Valdivia and Osorno. The two latter 
were wrested from them in 1 820 by the exertions of 
Lord Cochrane ; but they were not driven from the 
former until six years afterwards, during the presi- 
dency of General Freire. In order to aid their tot- 
tering cause, the Spaniards made great overtures 
to the Indians, many of whom joined them as aux- 
iliaries ; and the Araucanian Chiefs were ever ready 
to cross the Chilian frontier, and on several occa- 
sions committed great devastations, laying waste 
the country as far as Chilian. During the career 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



79 



of the renegade Benavides, too well known by his 
cold-blooded barbarities, the Araucanians were again 
formed in arms against the Republic. 

In the course of one of these disastrous expedi- 
tions, Benavides, with his army of freebooters and 
Indians, entered the towns of Los Angeles and 
Yumbel, the entire population of which were mas- 
sacred, with the exception of 470 women, who were 
made captives. In 1822, while endeavouring to 
make his escape to Peru, Benavides was made pri- 
soner, and soon afterwards executed in Santiago. 

The calm which succeeded, was but of short du- 
ration ; war again broke out in 1825, in which the 
Indians took an active part, led on by Pincheira, a 
less ferocious bandit than his prototype Benavides, 
but an equally bitter enemy to his country, iilthough 
occasionally assisted by the Araucanians, the chief 
part of his force was composed of Pawenches : and 
thus supported, he made frequent and sudden incur- 
sions, from their fortresses in the Cordillera, into 
some of the most fertile plains in the central pro- 
vinces of Chili. With various success, this war, 
the last which has been waged with the Araucanians 
on the part of Chili, continued until 1835, since 
which period there has been no renewal of hostili- 
ties ; the Chilian government however, have found 
it expedient to keep a respectable force on the fron- 
tier, and to retain one of the border Chiefs (Colipi) 
in their pay, for the purpose of checking any sudden 



80 



A VOICE FROM 



outbreak among the Araucanians, which might lead 
to an invasion of the territory. 

Having concluded this hasty sketch of the Indian 
war, the leading facts of which have been gleaned 
from the histories of Chili, by Molina and Guzman, 
it may be as well in this place, to notice some in- 
stances in which a remarkable providence seems to 
have defeated every attempt which has hitherto 
been made by the Spaniards and their successors, to 
propagate the religion of Rome among the Arauca- 
nian Tribes. 

The first in order, and which was well calculated 
to ensure eventual success, was the proposal made 
by Padre Luis Yaldivia to Philip III., for which 
purpose he made a voyage to Spain. Padre Yaldivia 
was the founder of the Indian Missions, in Chili, 
but finding, in consequence of the continued wars 
and depredations which were carried on by both 
parties, that all his efforts to introduce his religion 
among the Araucanians, were ineffectual ; he re- 
solved to memorialise the king upon the subject, 
and request that orders might be issued for the ces- 
sation of hostilities, under the full persuasion, that 
were this granted and punctually carried into effect, 
the entire Indian population m that part of the 
country might gradually be induced to embrace the 
faith of Rome. 

Philip, it is said, received him with great kind- 
ness, and not only accede to all his proposals, but 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



81 



permitted him to select the new Governor, whd 
would be charged to carry them into effect. Don 
Alonzo Rivera was consequently appointed, and 
thus, having succeeded in the object of his visit to 
Spain, Yaldivia, in 1611, accompanied by several 
other Missionaries, returned to Chili. 

After eu countering many difficulties, which his 
zeal overcame, Padre Yaldivia, says the historian, 
proceeded in his grand enterprise, and the Toki, 
Ancanamon, arrived in Concepcion with a small 
escort, in order to arrange the terms of the treaty. 
Thus far advanced were the negotiations, on which 
depended the peace and happiness of both countries, 
when an unexpected event disconcerted all the mea- 
sures which had been taken for the purpose. 

One of Ancanamon' s wives was a Spanish cap- 
tive, who, taking advantage of his absence, fled to 
the Governor's house, where, with two little boys 
and four women, whom she had persuaded to profess 
Christianity, she sought an asylum. Ancanamon, 
highly incensed at her conduct, and the reception 
she had met with from the Governor of Concepcion, 
from that moment withdrew his friendship, and re- 
pudiated all the overtures of peace which had been 
made. A demand was made for his wife and chil- 
dren, but, unwilling to subject them to the abandon- 
ment of the faith in which they had so recently been 
baptised, this, with the full concurrence of the 
other officers of the garrison, was refused. Anca- 

Gr - 



82 



A VOICE FROM 



namon, swearing to avenge himself of the injury he 
had received, as soon as an opportunity should occur, 
immediately quitted the country. An occasion soon 
afterwards offered of which he eagerly availed himself. 

Two Missionaries, under the escort of Utaflame. 
the Apu-ulman of the province of Ilicura, had en- 
tered the country, and no sooner was the circum- 
stance made known to Ancanamon, than, assembling 
200 men, he proceeded at once to the spot, and not 
only murdered the Missionaries, but slew the Apu- 
ulman who had exerted himself in their defence. 
Thus suddenly was a termination put to the san- 
guine expectations of peace entertained by Padre 
Yaldivia, and war was again kindled between the 
two countries. 

Subsequently, we have the direct proposal of 
Canpolican, which has been already stated, to induce 
the whole nation to acknowledge Popeiy, provided 
his life were spared, when about to be barbarously 
executed at Canete. How far these professions, 
made under such peculiar circumstances, were sin- 
cere, it is in vain for us now to inquire ; but, con- 
sidering the great influence which he possessed over 
his countrymen, had they been as punctually per- 
formed as they were solemnly pledged, there is every 
reason to suppose that the faith of Rome, at the pre- 
sent moment, would have been as generally and as 
exclusively established among the Araucanians, as it 
is on the other side of the Biobio. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



S3 



The futile and disastrous attempt to induce the 
Indians to leave their scattered hamlets and congre- 
gate in towns, was well calculated to facilitate their 
subjection ; and by whatever means this might have 
been accomplished, a still heavier yoke would of 
necessity have followed in its train. 

But the best concerted of all the measures that 
have been adopted for their temporal and spiritual 
subjugation, was employed in 1777. In that year, a 
school or college, as it was called, was instituted in 
Santiago, under the immediate direction of the 
Jesuits, for the express purpose of training up the 
sons of Araucanian Chiefs, and preparing them to 
exercise the functions of religious teachers among 
their countrymen. Certainly nothing could have 
been better devised, or more likely to effect the 
object in view ; but happily this training school for 
Popish Missionaries was of very short duration. 
The aristocratic pride of Spain was opposed to the 
elevation of those who could only boast of Indian 
descent to the rank of Priests, and as it was equally 
foreign to the policy which they had hitherto pur- 
sued, to impart education to the aborigines, an order 
for its suppression was shortly afterwards issued 
from Madrid. 

Nearly three centuries have elapsed since the 
Spaniards first crossed the Biobio, which, until com- 
paratively a very recent date, was the southern 
boundary of Chili. From that fatal period, all that 
G 2 



84 



A VOICE FROM 



artifice could devise, or force of arms could effect, 
has been strenuously and almost continuously em- 
ployed for the purpose of subjugating the countries 
beyond. Twice the prize was apparently won ; first 
by Valdivia, in 1552, and afterwards by Don Garcia, 
in 1560 ; but the pressure was too great to be borne, 
and in both instances it fell from their grasp. The 
fire had been beaten down, but it was not extin- 
guished, and it required but little fanning to cause 
it to burst forth again with redoubled fury, until at 
length the ignominious yoke was finally broken, and 
the Araucanians were again, what they still continue 
to be, free. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



85 



CHAPTER IV. 

At all times, but especially in the present day, when 
a fresh stimulus has been given to the human mind, 
when there is not only more intelligence and enquiry 
than hitherto abroad, but more vitality and activity in 
every department of domestic industry — in the walks 
of science, and not less among the members of almost 
every religious sect and creed ; it behoves the sincere 
christian often to revert to first principles, and with 
prayer to examine the ground which he occupies, and 
the work in which he is engaged in his Lord's vine- 
yard. It is not enough that we be not cumberers of 
the ground, we may be both active and sincere, and 
yet, after all, mistaken ; and occupying a false posi- 
tion in the church of Christ. 

St. Paul speaks of a zeal, which is not according to 
knowledge ; plausible in its appearance, but unsound 
and injurious in its origin and its effects. 

As no small portion of the impediments which 
hinder our Missionary exertions originate from this 
cause — in the camp, and not in the field, — it may be 



86 



A VOICE FROM 



as well, at the commencement of this chapter, to 
take a glance at those which are the most prominent, 
prior to making any further observations. How 
frequently do we hear such sentiments as these ad- 
vanced. " Why do you think of going abroad ? 
Surely there is ample and abundant work to be done 
at home — we stand in as great need of Missionaries 
in England, as any of the countries inhabited by 
heathens." This sort of language is held by persons 
of very opposite characters, the one class, are sin- 
cerely desirous to devote all their energies and talents 
to the glory of God ; but have very limited views of 
the real wants of the heathen, or of the force and 
extent of our Saviour's command to f£ go and teach 
all nations," the other are either too lukewarm or 
too indolent, to take any active measures for the 
spiritual welfare of their fellow-creatures, and there- 
fore gladly seize upon so common, and with many 
people, so conclusive, a form of words, under which 
to shroud their habitual apathy. 

But before we allow this very popular argument 
to pass current for sound and weighty reasoning, 
let us with becoming seriousness, test its value by 
the only sure method — weighing it in the balances 
of the sanctuary. 

Should we look back to the earliest period of the 
propagation of Christianity, and enquire respecting 
one of the most favoured spots, Capernaum ; what 
was its spiritual condition, when our Lord, as he him- 



SOUTH AMERICA.. 



87 



self says, left it to preach to other cities also ; (Luke 
iv. 43.) we shall find, in his own awful words, as re- 
corded by Matthew, a painful attestation of their 
unbelief and disregard to his miracles and teaching. 
1 And thou Capernaum which art exalted to heaven, 
shalt be brought down to hell ; for if the mighty 
works which have been done in thee, had been done 
in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." 
It was surely with an especial view to the general 
promulgation of the gospel of Christ throughout the 
world, that the miraculous gift of tongues was im- 
parted at the day of Pentecost, for although it was 
doubtless prime vally intended, to be both a sign and 
an attestation of the divine commission, with which 
the Apostles were entrusted, it was no less designed 
to be a requisite qualification for their future ministry 
among the gentiles, to which some of them were soon 
afterwards called. 

Can we imagine that the moral condition of Judea, 
at the time when Barnabas, and Simeon, and Manaen, 
and Paul were especially set apart by the Holy 
Spirit for the work among the Gentiles, was a whit 
better than that of England or Scotland at this pre- 
sent hour. St. Paul has borne his testimony to the 
contrary, " For they, being ignorant of God's righ- 
teousness, and going about to establish their own 
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto 
the righteousness of God." — Rom. x. 3. 

But we may, without impairing the argument, ad-. 



ss 



A TOICE PKOAI 



chice instances nearer to our own times. "What, we 
may ask, was the spiritual state of Britain when the 
first Missionary Societies were formed ? when the 
"Duff" proceeded with her messengers of peace to the 
Pacific, — when the coast of western Africa was first 
trodden, not by men-stealers, but by the humble 
servants of the Lord Jesus, who, for the greater part, 
sank under the effects of climate, and the toils and 
difficulties which they encountered, in endeavouring 
to impart the glad tidings of salvation, to the poor 
ill-treated and much .maligned negro ? Has spiri- 
tuality from that period receded from our churches ? 
Have our parishes been drained of their clergy ? has 
there ever since been a dearth of true religion in our 
land, and a lack of candidates to fill the Pastoral 
office ? or is it not an universally acknowledged fact, 
that, as years have rolled on, and Missions to the 
east and to the west, to the north and to the south, 
have successively beeu planted and strengthened, in 
an equal, I might indeed say, in an unprecedented 
ratio, have spiritual churches likewise been built up 
among us, and increased more than twenty fold with- 
in that very period. 

If our spiritual necessities at home are to be ad- 
mitted, as the gauge of our Missionary exertions 
abroad — if we must needs wait until no more can 
be effected, for advancing the cause of Christianity 
in our own particular neighbourhood, or within the 
limits of our native land : when would the period 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



89 



ever arrive, when it could be advisedly said, that a 
Missionary may proceed on his errand of mercy ? 

Can it be the duty of those to whom the highest 
of all talents has been entrusted, (the saving know- 
ledge of Jesus Christ and his great salvation.) to 
wait with folded arms, expecting the fulfilment of 
that gracious promise, when " all, from the least 
even to the greatest shall know the Lord," without 
endeavouring, as far as they have opportunity, to 
hasten forward by their prayers and their exertions 
that blessed period ? 

Those " other sheep," whom our Lord declared 
it was his purpose to gather into his fold — John 
x. 16. were to be brought to him through the in- 
strumentality of his revealed Word. " Neither pray 
I for these alone, but for them also which shall be- 
lieve on me through their word;" Johnxvii. — thereby 
calling, as it were, upon his disciples in all ages, to 
testify the sincerity of their devotion to him by en- 
gaging in this work and labour of love among their 
fellow-sinners. Nor are we left to the constructive, 
though plain and powerful indications of our path 
of duty in this respect, which are clearly involved in 
the passages alluded to, and might equally be esta- 
blished by others of a similar character ; we have the 
positive command of our ascending Saviour to his 
disciples. " Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature." — Mark xvi. 15. 

There is, however, another and a very different 



90 



A TOICE FROM 



class of persons, who are contented to do nothing, 
and nevertheless justify themselves by gravely ac- 
knowledging it to be their opinion that, since the 
heathens are blind and ignorant, and have never 
had any acquaintance with the revealed Word of 
God, consequently they are not accountable for their 
errors and vices, and in fact, it were better that they 
were left to grope on in their present darkness, 
than to employ any means to impart to them the 
light of revelation. To such persons we would reply, 
in the words of our Lord to the Sadducees, " ye do 
err, not knowing the Scriptures," and entreat them 
seriously to consider the import of the following 
texts : — 

" There is none righteous, no not one/ 5 — Romans 
hi. 10. 

" ^Ve have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, 
that they are all under sin." — Romans hi. 9. 

" Because that which may be known of God is 
manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto 
them, for the invisible things of him from the crea- 
tion of the world are clearly seen, being understood 
by the things that are made, even his eternal power 
and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 
because that when they knew God, they glorified 
him not as God." — Romans i. 19 — 21. 

" He left not himself without witness, in that he 
did good, and save us rain." — Acts xiv, 17. 

" For when the Gentiles which have not the law, 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



91 



do by nature the things contained in the law, these 
having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which 
shew the work of the law written in their hearts, 
their conscience also bearing witness, and their 
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one 
another." — Romans ii. 14, 15. 

" For as many as have sinned without law, shall 
also perish without law, and as many as have sinned 
in the law, shall be judged by the law." — Romans 
ii. 12. 

" That servant which knew his Lord's will and 
prepared not himself, neither did according to his 
will, shall be beaten with many stripes ; but he that 
knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes, 
shall be beaten with few stripes." — Luke xii. 47, 48. 

" Remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles 

in the flesh at that time ye were without Christ, 

being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and 
strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, 
and without God in the world." — Ephes. ii. 11, 12. 

" This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that 
ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the 
vanity of their mind, having the understanding dark- 
ened, being alienated from the life of God, through 
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness 
of their heart." — Ephesians iv. 17, 18. 

" The Jews, both killed the Lord Jesus and their 
own prophets, and have persecuted us ; and they 
please not God, and are contrary to all men ; for- 



92 



A VOICE FROM 



bidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might 
be saved." — 1 Thessalonians ii. 15, 16. 

" When they heard these things, they held their 
peace, and glorified God saying, then hath God also 
to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." — Acts 
xi. 18. 

" The times of this ignorance God winked at, but 
now commandeth all men every where to repent." — 
Acts xvii. 30. 

" The Scripture foreseeing that God would justify 
the heathen through faith, preached before the gos- 
pel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations 
be blessed." — Galatians hi. 8. 

" The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all 
the nations that forget God."— Psalm ix. 17. 

An awful responsibility rests upon those who 
would repress a genuine missionary spirit ; such may 
haply be found to be fighting against God. There 
are but comparatively few who are willing to undergo 
the privations and trials of a missionary life, and 
still fewer who conscientiously feel it their duty to 
leave all and follow Christ in that particular walk of 
christian obedience. Let us rather thank God that 
He has inclined the hearts of so many, to labour 
in this vineyard, and remember who it is that has 
said "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he w T ill 
send labourers into his harvest." 

As in the world, so in the church, every member 
has his peculiar office and calling ; nor is this, as 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



93 



some may imagine, arbitrary. Each individual is 
exactly fitted, by the wisdom and the overruling pro- 
vidence of the Head of the Church, for the duties to 
which he will sooner or later be called. Each is a 
living stone, adapted for his particular place in the 
spiritual edifice. Some are appointed to honour 
their Lord by patient endurance, others by active 
exertions ; some in the humbler and less dangerous 
walks of life, others again are called to more pro- 
minent stations, and occupy the high places of the 
field. All, says St. Paul, are not Apostles, all are 
not teachers ; there are diversities of gifts, but it is 
the self same Spirit which worketh all in all, divi- 
ding to every man severally as he will. Who can 
doubt but that Egede, and Elliott, and Smith, and 
Brainerd, and Swartz, and Henry Martyn, and Wil- 
liams, and a host of faithful and devoted Mission- 
aries, now in the presence of their Lord, were as 
much in the path of duty while self-expatriated, and 
devoting all their energies to the spiritual interests 
of the heathen, as Leighton, or Baxter, or Dod- 
dridge, or Newton, or Scott, or Venn, or Simeon 
who remained at home ; and blessed be God, there 
is still an increasing host of living missionaries, who 
are closely walking in their steps, and to whom it 
will doubtless be said in the great day of account : 
cc W r ell done, thou good and faithful servant, enter 
thou into the joy of thy Lord." 

If we are true believers, we belong to a holy 



94 



A VOICE FROM 



catholic church, the grace by which we are saved is 
the common salvation, (Jude 3.) and as we have 
freely received, we are bound freely to give. Paul 
rejoiced in the grace by which he was permitted to 
preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches 
of Christ, since it was revealed to the apostles and 
prophets by the Spirit, that they should be fellow 
heirs and of the same body, and partakers of the 
promises of the gospel, (Ephes. hi. 5 — 8.) and he 
counted it his glory, that he had strived to preach the 
gospel where Christ had not before been named, 
(Rom. xv. 20.) in accordance with his reasoning in 
the tenth chapter of the same Epistle, where he 
energetically asks, cc How shall they believe on Him 
of whom they have not heard ; and how shall they 
hear without a preacher ? " Great, and full, and 
most encouraging indeed, are the promises contained 
in scripture respecting the Gentiles ; but surely they 
were never intended to supersede our individual or 
collective exertions, but rather to excite us to more 
earnest prayer in their behalf, and to quicken our 
efforts to minister unto them some spiritual blessing, 
and thus become, according to that most condes- 
cending and affecting expression of the Holy Spirit, 
by the mouth of Paul, " workers together with 
God." (2 Cor. vi. 1.) 

And here lies the real stimulus to all ministerial 
or missionary labour — those who are scripturally en- 
gaged in this spiritual vocation, are both working 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



95 



for and with God — well then may they divest them- 
selves of all anxious care respecting the result, 
leaving this with humble confidence to the Lord of 
the harvest, in patience possessing their souls, with 
the full and settled conviction that, notwithstanding 
the clouds and darkness which for a time may sur- 
round their path, the promised blessing will assur- 
edly descend in its appointed season. Difficulties 
and trials they will not fail to meet wdth, and must 
needs pass through ; the natural heart itself, whe- 
ther refined by education or debased by barbarism, 
presents an obstacle which the soundest argument 
and the clearest evidence cannot remove, and which 
the grace of God alone can overcome. Added to 
this, there are difficulties of another nature which 
it may be the missionary's lot daily to endure, and 
which he may have no means of mitigating ; arising 
from the climate, the character of the natives, or, 
what is more to be dreaded than either, the evil ex- 
ample and opposition of self-called Christians. 

But the very mention of difficulties in such a 
cause, and especially in such a country as South 
America, ought to enlist our christian sympathies 
in behalf of a people so peculiarly circumstanced 
as are the aborigines of that continent, and quicken 
our endeavours to enter among them by the very 
few breaches that yet remain in the wall, with which 
Popery has so carefully encircled them : shall we 
not at least emulate the zeal of the Jesuits of former 



96 



A VOICE FRO}! 



days, who persevered until they had planted numerous 
missions in all parts of the country ? — or must we 
continue to bear the reproach, that, with a better 
cause to promote, we permitted our unbelieving fears 
to obtain the mastery, and shrunk from the attempt ! 
What unparalleled hardships have not travellers and 
voyagers endured for the advancement of science 
and discovery ; undaunted by the most appalling 
dangers, or the most fatal climates ? Names there 
are, too well known to need recording here, which 
will remain as mementos of national enterprise and 
skill, as long as the English language shall continue 
to be spoken. And who that knows any thing of 
the mighty commercial wheel which is now in rapid 
and increasing motion, principally in Great Britain 
and the United States of America, will not bear 
testimony to the activity and energy of the host of 
Agents who are yearly traversing sea and land in 
pursuit of further gains to their employers. And 
what is the lesson which the christian should learn 
from such stirring facts as these, — not indeed of rare 
occurrence, — but of almost every day routine I May 
it not be expressed in one short sentence, u Go and 
do thou likewise." While the " children of this 
generation," are not only " wise as serpents/' but 
also active and busy as ants, let us employ the same 
energies, devote the same time and talents to the 
highest and noblest of all objects, the glory of God 
and the everlasting welfare of our fellow creatures. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



97 



Let us ever remember that our period for labour 
is short, that the world is up and doing — there is 
no " Ten hours' Bill," to mitigate the rigour of her 
hard service ; be it science, business, or pleasure, 
it is sought with avidity and continuously pursued. 
And shall that which is not only our duty, but our 
highest privilege, be entered upon with listlessness, 
and permitted to occupy but a subordinate place in 
our thoughts and our daily avocations ? It cannot, 
it will not be ; wherever the soul is duly impres- 
sed with a sense of its lost and helpless condition, 
and of the infinite price which has been paid for 
its ransom — wherever, by divine teaching, the con- 
straining love of Christ has taken root in every 
heart, it will exhibit the beautiful delineations of 
the Psalmist's emblem of the olive tree planted in 
the house of the Lord ; — its branches will gradually 
extend, until they flourish in the courts, the Gen- 
tile courts around. 

Independent of the highest of all motives to duty, 
the commands of our blessed Saviour, we owe a 
debt of gratitude to the first Missionaries who con- 
veyed the Gospel message to our shores, and this we 
can only repay by proclaiming the same common 
salvation to those who are now circumstanced as we 
were then. In this blessed employment we can 
never lose our labour, — we may not indeed live to 
see the fruit ; but to be permitted even to prepare 
the soil, is a high privilege for which we cannot be 

H 



98 



A VOICE FROM 



too thankful. It is of the Lord's sovereign conde- 
scension, that such unworthy creatures as we are, 
should be employed as labourers in the Gospel-vine- 
yard, which one word from the Almighty Ruler of 
the universe, " Let there be light/ 5 could instantly 
cause to bud and blossom as the rose, and to bring 
forth fruit to his glory. While then we are per- 
mitted, nay, commanded to engage in this all-impor- 
tant and truly angelic work, let us not act the part 
of Jonah, by fleeing from the presence of the Lord, 
but rather say with the prophet, (Isaiah vi. 8.) 
" Here I am, send me ;" or, with Ahimaaz, " But, 
howsoever let me run." 

Before I conclude, I cannot refrain from mention- 
ing a case (the only one which has come under my 
notice) which exhibits a parallel to that which ob- 
tains among the Aborigines of South America. I 
refer to the native population of several of the 
islands in the East Indian Archipelago. There was 
a time, when that entire group was inhabited by a 
race of Pagans ; but where are they now to be found ? 
Not on the coasts, not in the most fertile and acces- 
sible spots — not where settlements have been made, 
and commerce holds her marts ; but in the remote 
valleys and fastnesses of the mountains ; there to 
remain, the secluded specimens of a race, who were 
once the undisputed possessors of the entire islands ; 
in the heart of which, as it were, they are now im- 
prisoned ! And by whom has this been effected ? 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



99 



By a band of successful adventurers from Arabia, 
and Malacca, and Java ; who, carrying with them 
the thirst for wealth, and the intolerant creed of 
Mahomed, have, in process of time, appropriated to 
themselves all the maritime districts, leaving the 
helpless Aborigines the choice of adopting their re- 
ligion, or seeking an asylum in the interior of the 
country, in order to escape the alternative — slavery. 

Thus it has happed with Solor, Floris, Gillolo, 
the greater part of Celebes, Sanger, and the Sooloo 
group, with others that might be mentioned. And, 
should it be asked, what is it that now repels the 
Missionary from their shores, and bars them from 
the approach of those who fain would convey to 
them the glad tidings of salvation? — we are con- 
strained to say — the apathy of those who, bearing 
the christian name, have withheld their interference 
in their behalf, until the chains of Islamism have 
been too firmly rivetted to admit of their being 
broken. 

Who can tell how many a fair opening for Mis- 
sionary labour has been lost by delay ; or calculate 
the responsibility which will devolve upon those who 
had it in their power to do good, and did it not ! 
To go forward is the very essence of Christianity — 
to work while it is the day, and to hope even against 
hope ; and who that has based his largest expecta- 
tions upon the promises of an immutable God, has 
ever yet had cause to repent of his confidence. The 
h 2 



100 



A VOICE FEOM 



very same lips that gave the command, M Go ye into 
all the world, and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture," added, for our encouragement, the animating 
assurance, " Lo ! I am with you alv ay. even unto 
the end of the world." 

When we consider what many of the Indian 
Tribes of South America have suffered during the 
long and arduous struggle for temporal freedom, and 
their total ignorance of God, the source of light and 
peace ; surely they have a claim upon the sympa- 
thies of those who themselves have experienced what 
it is to be delivered from the power of darkness and 
translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. — 
To such it will not be necessary to add more than 
these words of the beloved disciple, " Let us not 
love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in 
truth." 

There is also an important consideration which 
should not be omitted. Although, by the intolerant 
spirit of Popery, we are prohibited from bearing our 
public testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus, 
throughout the length and breadth of Spanish South 
America ; by the good providence of God, some 
openings still remain, whereby the words of eternal 
life may be conveyed to the Aboriginal inhabitants 
beyond the limits of their control. An almost im- 
perative duty consequently devolves upon our British 
Zion, to avail themselves of so manifest an advan- 
tage ; which, by delay, may be irrecoverably lost. 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



101 



Surely, under circumstances so peculiar and so ur- 
gent, we may not improperly adopt the language of 
St. Paul, and say, <f A necessity is laid upon us, 
yea, woe is unto us, if we preach not the Gospel 
and who can tell but that the good seed of the word, 
thus scattered among those poor benighted Indians, 
and watered by the Spirit of the Lord, may not, 
after many days, appear, bearing precious fruit, far 
beyond the boundaries of their now contracted ter- 
ritory. 

May the Lord quicken us all to greater faithful- 
ness and zeal in his service, and pour out abundantly 
the spirit of grace and supplication upon his ser- 
vants, that they may not neglect to beseech Him 
daily in behalf of the millions who are yet ignorant 
of a Saviour's love, having no hope, and living as 
though there were no God in the world ; and espe- 
cially at this time (when the difficulty of obtaining 
Missionaries is so great) that he will vouchsafe to 
raise up and send forth more labourers into his 
harvest. 



The writer of the foregoing pages has just returned 
from an extended journey in South America, having 
visited the neighbourhood of the Gran Chaco, 
where, by the good providence of God, a large sphere 
of Missionary labour is now open. One Missionary 
has been left in the country to hold the ground, but 



102 



A VOICE FROM 



it is not right that he should stand alone. An op- 
portunity now offers for the services of a Missionary, 
either Clerical or Lay, to prosecute this interesting 
and deeply important work. Applications addressed 
to the Secretary, Captain Allen Gardiner, No. 40, 
Montpelier Road, Brighton, will be duly attended to> 
and every necessary information respecting the Mis- 
sion given. 

Is there not in our British Zion, a man, who is 
ready to respond to this urgent call, to go over and 
help the Aborigines of that dark continent ! Has 
the spirit of an Elliot and a Martyn departed from 
us ? Is there none to take up the prophet's mantle 
and to go forth, not counting his life dear unto him, 
that he may proclaim good tidings of good among 
the Indians of South America. The heathen 

OF THE GRAN CHACO, AND TERRA DEL FUEGO, 
LOUDLY CLAIM OUR CHRISTIAN SYMPATHIES. 



SOUTH AMERICA, 



103 



" What do ye more than others." — Matt. v. 47. 

Say Christian ! say — and can it be 
The worldling e'er shall rival thee, 
For some poor sordid gain ; 
Mark how they compass sea and land, 
From Greenland's snows to Afric's sand, 
No dangers daunt — no climes restrain, 

Can that be love that starts aside, 
Nor heeds the call of Him who died, 
To set thee free from Satan's chains ? 
Think — had He waited till you sought, 
The blessings which his blood has bought, 
Where had you been ? — in endless pains ! 

How sweet, His parting pledge to hear, 
" Lo ! I am with you — ever near." 
Then on his promise still confide, 
Though long the harvest you may wait 
It will not — cannot come too late, 
The prayer of faith was ne'er denied. 



104 



A VOICE FROM 



What though but one lost soul be blessed, 
But one should reach the heavenly rest : 
Your toil were well — full well repaid : 
But who can tell what sovereign grace 
For that neglected Indian race 
Is yet in store, to be displayed. 

Oh ! that Ahimaaz' zeal were found, 

Burning in many a heart around, 

To run — in any wise, to go : — 

If 'twere to delve her golden ore, 

Who would not press to gain that shore, 

Bat ah ! — to save a soul — how slow ! 

All are not called to till that field, — 
But each may surely something yield, 
And those e'en most who've least to spare ; 
That which, if lacking, all were vain, 
Which brings the first — the latter rain, 
Continued — earnest fervent Prayer ! 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



105 



" Thy people shall be willing- in the day of 
thy power." Psalm ex. 3. 

" The Lord gave the word, great was the 
company of them that published it.'' 

Psalm lxviii. 11. 



Hark ! methinks a voice I hear. 

A faint, but earnest cry ; 

The wrestling of a soul in prayer, 

To Him who'll ne'er deny ; 

For grace he pleads — for strength to bear, 

The ills he may be called to bear. 

" All that I have, Lord, is thine : 
All that I am, thy Spirit wrought ; 
What should I not for Thee resign, 
Whose precious blood my ransom bought. 
Lord, here I am — my life — my all, 
I hold obedient to thy call. 

" Let but thy presence with me go, 
Contented I could spend my days. 
Where bleak Fuegia's tempests blow. 
Or turbid Pilcomayo strays ; 
Mid torrid heats alike I'd wend, 
Or where Antarctic snows descend — 



106 



A VOICE FROM 



" Or if thy hand should point the way, 
To Patagonia's thirsty strand, 
I'd hail the long expected day, 
When 'mid some wild and wandering band, 
I should declare, in Indian strain, 
The tidings of a Saviour slain. 

" Upheld by Thee, I've nought to fear, 
For who can harm when Thou art nigh ; 
My darkest moments thou canst cheer, 
And strength in every need supply ; 
I ask but faith in thee to live, 
All else thou hast engaged to give." 

I heard no more — but visions bright, 
A glimpse of heaven displayed ; 
Methought I saw, in garments white, 
A countless host arrayed, 
Singing with one united strain, 
" Worthy the Lamb for us was slain." 

From every land I there descried, 
Some trophies of redeeming grace ; 
Africa and Indian, side by side, 
With rude Fuegia's abject race ; 
And Chaco's sons ; — a glorious band, 
Around the throne rejoicing stand. 

And then methought, what holy zeal, 
Within our languid hearts would glow, 
Had we but faith to see and feel, 
What ransomed spirits fuily know : — 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



107 



How precious is the living Word, 

Which while on earth by grace they heard. 

Who then would wait to count the cost ? — 

But forward press with joy to bear, 

The only balm for sinners lost, 

To those still bound in Satan's snare ; 

Till earth's remotest Tribes were taught, 

What Jesus for their ransom wrought. 



" There is joy in the presence of the angels 
of God over one sinner that repenteth." — 
Luke xv. 10. 



THE END. 



L. Seeley, Printer, Thames Dittan, Surrey. 



* 




